PLAYIN’ IN THE HAY — Hillbillies young and old will flock to Middlebourne this weekend for ‘Hillbilly Days’ slated for Sept. 4 and 5.

It is that time of year once again for the annual Hillbilly Days Festival slated for Sept. 4 and 5. Make sure to stop by on the way through Middlebourne.

Activities will kick off on Friday at 9 a.m. with specials and door prizes at local stores. At the ‘Hillbilly Welcome Center” located at the firehall on main Street, passersby can enjoy a vintage photographic sideshow of Middlebourne and Tyler County. Later on, hillbillies can travel back in time with Belle Boyd, Civil War spy, as an historical presentation is given at 11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

On Broad Street there will be a bake and food sales all day, with soup beans, corn bread, pulled pork and beef, homemade noodles, candy apples, sassafras tea and so much more. Craft sales and concessions will be sold at the Stealey Green Center. Chicken BBQ will be available at the corner of Main and Dodd Streets.

Meanwhile, over at the museum, yard sales will start at 9 a.m. with the museum hours from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

At 4 p.m. there will be music at the gazebo.

On Saturday the fun continues with sales, concessions and food galore. At 8 a.m. at the Middlebourne Park, the Benefit Softball Tournament hosted by the Indian Creek Southern Baptist Church and sponsored by Perkins, with the proceeds helping a young woman in the congregation with a serious disease.

At 10:30 a.m. music abounds with groups performing at the front porch of the log cabin at the museum, the front porch of Did’s Designs and also at the gazebo.

The parade line-up begins at 11:30 a.m. in front of the Tyler County Senior Center. The parade will follow at 12 p.m.

The music will continue at the gazebo at 1 p.m. as the Nashville gospel group “The Needhams” will serenade the community with beautiful harmonies and amazing musical abilities.

There will be a horse and buggy rides around town and pony rides beside the Stealey Greene Center.