First ever, 5-day ‘Power Festival’ draws thousands to Greene

The Mid-Atlantic Power Festival dropped neatly into the calendar between Memorial Day and Independence Day, giving Greene County residents and visitors an all-American opportunity to celebrate the beginning of summer.  For five days from June 16 to June 20, Carroll Morris’ Farm off Route 33 in Ruckersville was transformed into a melee of carnival rides and attractions, horsepower under the hood and, on the hoof, ATV’s, trucks, trailers, motorbikes and mad bulls.
“He (Carroll Morris) didn’t charge us a thing,“ said Chip Morris, co-organizer of the event. “He’s been excellent about the whole thing. It was a lot of cost to him for us to use his land.  If it wasn’t for him we could not have done this.“
Chip Morris and his cousin Mike Payne are the owners of the business Mid-Atlantic Power Festival.  This was the first year for what started as a spur of the moment idea that took a year of work to produce. 
Volunteers helped the cousins handle much of the work.  Morris estimates attendance at roughly 16,000 people.
While an unnecessary deluge drowned out Wednesday’s demolition derby, the rest of the events had sunny weather and eager crowds.  Greene County Rescue Squad and Ruckersville Volunteer Fire Department, supported by Greene County EMS, provided safety and security for both participants and spectators.
Only two mishaps occurred - both during Tuesday’s motocross event.  One rider cut open his chin and another broke his leg.
“We didn’t have any trouble,“ says Mike Payne.  “It was more family oriented which is what we were looking for.“
From the hay rolls marking aisles in the pasture parking to the backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the festival had typical Greene County flavor, which is what the promoters wanted.
“We tried to spend as much locally right here in the county that we could,“ said Morris.  “The signs were brought right here in the county.“
“And we tried to use what was already on the site as much as possible before bringing other stuff in,“ added Payne.
What the event additionally required was approximately 2200 tons of sand for the sand drag event, 500 concrete blocks to form the event area and about 1200 pounds of gravel and ground up brick.  The event area will be used for storing hay rolls.
Festival-goers entered the area through a corridor of carnival light, motion and sound.  Rides provided by Cole Amusements gave the crowd ample opportunity for screaming and laughing and the occasional tears—and were designed for the daring and the not-so-brave. 
Despite recent rains, heat and sun hardened the ground into crunchy dried mud.  The scent of grill smoke advertised the presence of Greene County’s Young Farmers, with their famous steak sandwiches, and the Stanardsville Volunteer Fire Department food booth offering enough to satisfy any culinary cravings. 
True to its title, the Power Festival offered plenty of competition and excitement for those with a need for strength and/or speed. 
“We had 48 cars registered for the demolition derby,“ says Payne.  “We had more than 200 dirt bikes and more than 150 four-wheelers.  Competitors came from as far away as Georgia, Pennsylvania and Ohio.“
“Our biggest night was probably the Friday truck and tractor pull,“ added Payne. 
Saturday was the unique night with nothing but animal and human power.  The last day also had perhaps the best weather.
As spectators crested the hill and made their way into the hollow were the event area nestled, they fanned out to take seats in the stands or formed groups of families and friends along the hillside of the natural amphitheater. 
From the opposite ridge, a breeze flowed down into the event area then splashed up and over the crowd.  The breeze brought sounds of restless bulls kicking at the metal rails and the voices of the crowd as they waited.
Courtney Durrer entered the ring holding the flag as she rode her horse around and the crowd silently listened to Jackie Herring sing the national anthem.  It was a moment of reverence, patriotism with only the background rumble of machinery, the sound of the horse’s hooves and one musical voice.
The emcees kept a running comical commentary as men with names like Lance and Dusty tired to ride bulls called Bad Moon Rising, Cordell and other fearsome names.  Punctuating the gritty determination of the cowboys were the comical antics of the rodeo clowns who distracted the bulls so fallen riders could make their safe escape. 
Less intense was the spectacle of mutton-busting.  Here riders as young as 4, don helmets and wrap themselves around sheep in a usually vain attempt to stay on.  While the bulls used a corkscrew technique of trying to twist, jar and fling their riders off; the sheep went for the more direct approach of simply running out from underneath their young riders. 
Winding up the four-footed events was barrel-racing, pitting riders on horses against the clock.  The last night of the festival ended with live music from Silver Creek.
The festival was about more than power and entertainment.  Six-foot tall pink ribbon displays reminded the crowd that the event was also about Breast Cancer Awareness.
Two years ago, Mike Payne and his two son’s Kevin and Mikey lost wife and mother Amy to the disease.  Although the festival took a loss, donations and contributions will be used to promote Breast Caner Awareness.
“The gate admissions didn’t quite cover the costs this first year, so we’re in the hole. We lost money (on the festival),“ said Morris.
Morris and Payne are looking for feedback from festival-goers and some help from the county to make this an annual event.  The cousins see this as a good event for the county that brings more tourists in without competing with August’s Greene County Fair and offering a different experience from the Battle of Stanardsville and Greene’s wine festivals.
Will they return next year?
“We’ll have a lot of finessing to do,“ says Morris.  “We’ll scratch our heads and think about next year…maybe.“