By Ann Cantrell
Staff Writer

After 25 years, The Rutledge Beautification Committee is still holding their Country Fair to provide not only entertainment to the community, but also funding for different improvements.
Every dime from the Rutledge Country Fair, which comes from renting space to the various vendors, will go towards improving the community ballpark.
“The most important thing is that we are contributing money to get the ball park in shape,” said Dottie Spann, committee member.
The ball park, she said, is playable but the dugout and bleachers are in bad condition.
The fair started 25 years ago as a talent show on Friday night and a parade on Saturday afternoon.  It has also fluctuated in its size over the years.  This year Spann expects the fair to be a good size, with about 3000 people to participate in the parade.
So far about 45 vendors plan to participate.  These vendors are mostly local artisans who sell all handcrafted objects ranging from handbags, to baskets,  to carved gourds.  Spann said that even within each craft there is a lot of variation, particularly with jewelry.
“You never know what will show up with these people, never,” said Spann.
Several local performers will also take the stage during the fair.  In recent years, talent has been recruited for the fair from areas such as Atlanta.  This year, the committee decided to bring in local talent.  One of these local performers will be the Barefoot Hookers.
Entertainment and the fair will start at 9 a.m on May 10 and will continue until around 5 p.m.  The parade will begin at 11 a.m. through downtown Rutledge.  The parade will cover a short distance in Rutledge but will involve a large number of participants. 
There will be old-fashion cars, horses, and even the Sons of the Confederacy in the parade.  The “Confederate soldiers” will also mingle with the crowd during the festivities.
This year, there will also be a raffle for a patio furniture set from Lowe’s.  The patio furniture has lights actually in the pieces that are solar powered.  The raffle will be $3 for one and $5 for two.
Spann said that she hopes in future years to bring in more people from Morgan County and also surrounding counties to bring in funding for the Beautification Committee.  This year, the committee hopes to bring in $4000 after all the expenses. 
The committee next project will be repairing the sidewalks in Rutledge.