Slated for October 27th, the third annual Benton Arts and Heritage Days is just around the corner. Organizers have a few changes in store for this year and look forward to celebrating Benton’s Heritage with music, art, demonstrations, activities for children and more.

This year’s Benton Arts and Heritage Days will take place Saturday only. Previous years have brought a two-day event, but organizers are looking to streamline the event and make it a longer event on one day. This year’s festivities will begin at 9 a.m. instead of noon, and last until 7 p.m.

Artists of all walks of life are welcome to participate in the day-long event. Booth space will be $10 for the event, which takes place around the courthouse square in downtown Benton. Food, art, craft and other vendors are invited to sign up by contacting John Pippenger at 423-338-0187 or emailing bentonartsandheritage@gmail.com.

Artists who wish to participate in the festival and demonstrate their art will not be charged a fee for their spot.

Benton Mayor Jerry Stephens said instead of having bluegrass music on Saturday and gospel on Sunday, he would like to integrate both on Saturday. Anyone wishing to volunteer to help at the festival this year is encouraged to attend the next planning meeting on Friday, September 14 at 10 a.m. at the Benton Municipal Building.

A highlight of Benton Arts and Heritage Days has always been Quilt Court, a display of locally made quilts inside the old courtroom inside the Polk County Courthouse. Around 100 quilts were displayed last year – from toppers handed down through generations to machine-quilted art pieces. Quilt Court is geared toward showing off quilts from all walks of life. No prizes are given.

Anyone who wishes to show off a quilt during the show is encouraged to contact Cheryl Buehler at the Polk County News, 423-338-2818. Volunteers to sit with the quilts to ensure their safety are needed again this year.