Carly Upchurch, daughter of Adam and Pattie Upchurch, was crowned the 2017 Miss Foothills Festival Saturday night. She was crowned by 2016 Miss Foothills Festival Taya Cook. Saturday kicked off the 2017 Foothills Festival with the Baby Show on Saturday morning and the Foothills Festival Gospel Singing was held on Sunday. On Wednesday, The Sneed Family will take the stage next to the Albany First Baptist Church at 6 p.m. with the main Foothills Festival lineup kicking off on Friday with several events on the schedule.

If the forecast for weather conditions for the next few days holds true to the current outlook, expect to be a part of a real big time this weekend.

Mostly sunny skies with highs in the upper 70s and possibly even the low 80s and lows barely dipping into the upper 40s with little to no chance for rain.

Combine those surroundings with a splash of color that is beginning to brighten the mountains that surround Albany and Clinton County and we should have the makings for a great autumn weekend.

Now, throw in 12 months of work and planning on the schedule and entertainmenet lineup, and what is in store for thousands of fans expected to fill the streets around the courthouse square should be a fantastic 38th edition of the annual fall celebration we’ve all come to love – the Foothills Festival

With a run of nearly 40 years now, the Foothills Festival has played out through every weather condition imaginable – sun, rain, wind and even snow, a favorable forecast for the next several days should make for a great weekend party on the square.

Come See It Our Way! is the call Albany and Clinton County has put out since those early years in the 1980s when a group of young planners got together and devised an event that would hopefully grow into a weekend long party and celebration in Albany, providing a forum for a homecoming of sorts as well as a boost to the local economy.

Now, 38 years later, the annual gathering is not only alive and very well, but set to put on a schedule of events and entertainers that should once again be . . . bigger and better.

Although the bulk of the 2017 schedule lies ahead for Friday and Saturday, as has long been the case, a few of the events have already been staged, namely the Old Time Gospel Singing, Baby Show and the Foothills Beauty Pageant .

On Wednesday evening, a new Gospel Singing night of entertainment has been set to get underway at 6:00 p.m. and will take place in front of the Albany First Baptist Church, featuring The Sneed Family among others.

On Thursday, judging for the Foothills Window Display will take place, with area businesses putting their best look forward in window dressings that will give one location not only bragging rights for a year, but possession of the coveted traveling Window Challenge Trophy.

“The Mountains… God’s Artwork” is this year’s Foothills Festival official theme, and window entries are suggested to relate to that idea.

Additional information can be obtained from Becky Smith and Jay Garner.

The meat and potatoes portion of the 2017 Foothills schedule gets underway on Friday as vendors begin setting up for a two-day run featuring arts and crafts, trinkets and gifts for sale all across the downtown Albany area.

The First and Farmers Bank sponsored Pumpkin Patch will be attracting the youngest of Foothills participants next to the Albany bank location beginning at 11:00 a.m. and continuing through the evening hours, with a break for the afternoon Foothills parade.

Music has long played a part in the Foothills schedule, and the first opportunity for entertainment will once again follow the tradition of showcasing a long-time favorite – the Clinton County High School Band.

Under the direction of Doug Sell, the band’s 12:30 appearance will be one of two chances for local fans to enjoy the music provided by the high school students, as the band will also be near the front of the afternoon Foothills Parade as well.

Following the performance of the current high school band, some of the past members of the band will take the stage for a return performance by the CCHS Alumni Band, which has earned a loyal following as well during the past several years of its existence.

The Alumni Band performance will immediately follow the high school band’s appearance, at about 1:00 p.m., both performing near Stage 1, in front of the Albany Baptist Church.

Registrations and setups for a host of contests and events will begin at the Foothills Festival Building Friday evening, and additional details will be available from Foothills Festival Planning Committee members who will be on hand at the Foothills porch area.

One new feature to this year’s Foothills Festival will be a nostalgic return to the early Foothills years when hot air balloons dotted the skies during the weekend for the Albany Hot Air Balloon Trials.

Sponsored by the Clinton County Tourism Commission, a hot air balloon will be offering tethered rides before the parade, and after Friday’s parade will ignite the balloon glow for the enjoyment of everyone on hand.

Of course the highlight of the afternoon portion of Friday’s Foothills schedule will once again be the “best little parade around” when the Foothills Festival Parade comes through Albany.

Parade lineup at the Westview Shopping Center gets underway at 3:00 p.m, with the parade start set for 5:00 p.m.

The Friday schedule continues into the night with entertainment on both Foothills stages, featuring the Bluegrass sounds of C.F. Bailey and Shadow Ridge on the Stage 2 location near the law offices of David Choate beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Across town, on Stage 1, in front of the Albany Baptist Church, John Capps will entertain with his variety of musical selections, beginning at 6:00 p.m, followed by another local favorite group, the Backroom Band at 7:00 p.m

Friday’s schedule comes to a close with a bang again when the skies are filled with fireworks to mark the closeof Foothills Day 1.

Saturday’s events traditionally get off to an early start with the running of the Foothills 5K, with runners bursting off of the starting line at Mountain View Recreation Park at 8:00 a.m., en route to the Dyer Drug finish line on Cumberland Street.

The return of the Car, Truck, Motorcycle and Tractor Show will fill the People’s Bank parking lot on Saturday, with registration getting underway at 9:00 a.m. – the show at 10:00 a.m. – and will feature some of this area’s most pristine restored vehicles, competing for prizes and fan attention.

Contest registration continues Saturday at the Foothills Festival Building and of course as the day continues, the size of the crowd milling around the courthouse square is expected to swell again.

Arts and Crafts and plenty of great festival food will bring folks together for the homecoming atmosphere that has long been a Foothills Festival tradition.

Organized entertainers will include Tim Friday, a Nashville magician on Stage 2 at 12:00 noon, Brother Rains at 12:30 on Stage 1, and of course the impromptu and ever-changing picking and grinning sessions all around the courthouse lawn.

The Pumpkin Patch will once again provide entertainment for the kids near First and Farmers Bank throughout the day and the return of the Little Red Wagon Parade will give the younger competitors another chance to showcase their float building skills.

Parade lineup at the First Baptist Church is at 10:30, parade start at 11:00 a.m.

For lunch, if the offerings in the food court don’t suit you, get in on the second annual Foothills Hot Dog Eating Contest, in front of Stage 2 beginning at 1:00 p.m.

Parent – Child Look-A-Like contests start at 2:00 p.m. on Stage 2, leading up to, of course, the afternoon’s most attended event, the Foothills Lip Sync Contest that is sure to once again, bring down the house with some of the weekend’s most spirited and unique entertainment.

The day comes to a close with the sounds of Nashville Country Music entertainer Gary West, who will be performing his authentic Johnny Cash tribute show beginning at 6:00 p.m. on Stage 2.

For the younger crowd still on hand, the musical entertainment will close out with a street dance, also near Stage 2, beginning at 7:00 p.m. with DJ Terry Murphy providing the sounds to keep people dancing into the night.

Foothills 2017 goes out with another “bang” when the fireworks will light up the sky once again to end the annual celebration at about 8:00 p.m.

A complete schedule can be found this week on page x, and of course next weeks Clinton County News, as has long been the tradition, will be chock full of photos and winners from the weekend activities.

Come early, stay late, bring your appetite and wear some comfortable shoes – and maybe even a little sunscreen.

There’s plenty of old, plenty of new, plenty to chew and hopefully, plenty of you, on hand for the weekend celebration that we’ve come to embrace as a final weekend of outdoor fun in homecoming and reunion style.

Mix, mingle, greet some old friends and maybe even make a few new ones, but be sure and get out to Albany to join in on the fun as we once again beckon the world to come together for another celebration in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountain Chain.

Come out to the 38th Foothills Festival and …

Come See It Our Way!