The Vinton Area Chamber of Commerce hosted its final Mingle at the Market concert for the 2017 season on November 11. Due to the chilly temperatures, the event was moved from the Vinton Farmers’ Market indoors to the Lancerlot Sports Complex. The Lancerlot once again came through for the town in an inclement weather situation.
There was a huge crowd with the parking lot overflowing to hear and dance to the Fuzzy Logic band. Councilman Keith Liles provided some fall atmosphere, keeping a couple of fire barrels outside the Lancerlot stoked with wood.
There was food from Lick BBQ & Co. along with beverages from Blue Ridge Beverage and Deschutes Brewery.
This year the Mingle at the Market series has expanded to include families. Well-known local face-painting and balloon artist Jean Lewis was on hand for the delight of the children.
Angie Chewning, executive director of the Vinton Area Chamber of Commerce, and its president, Justin Davison, thanked all the sponsors, the Lancerlot, and everyone who attended to make the event such a successful conclusion to the 2017 series.
“We had a great time at our last Mingle of the season,” said Davison. “Thank you to all our great sponsors, volunteers, performers, and vendors who make it possible. Thank you, Lancerlot, for allowing us to use your great facility for this last one!”
The 2017 Mingle at the Market concert series has been a roaring success with attendance far above previous years and resounding enthusiasm from concert-goers. The 2017 season opened with the wildly popular Tru Sol band from Myrtle Beach in June, followed by Low, Low Chariot and Rutledge, Uptown, Seven Mile Ford, and Hott Sauce.
“I want to give a big thank you to all of our sponsors, volunteers, vendors, partnerships, and most of all the attendees that came out this past Mingle season,” said Davison. “We saw consistent growth at each Mingle and the exciting part was seeing new faces and hearing many patrons saying they didn’t know such great things were going on in Vinton.
“I also want to thank the Town of Vinton and the Public Works teams as they always worked with us hand in hand on logistics and various other things,” added Davison. “I am excited about the great things happening in Vinton and am already thinking of things for 2018 to make it the best experience it possibly can be.”
“This year’s Mingle at the Market was amazing,” said Chewning. “New ideas and changes to the event brought new faces. And new faces brought more new faces. Every Mingle got bigger and bigger, down to our last one that we held at Lancelot due to the cold temperatures. This event was responded to like I never thought it would be. People loved it. They are asking for more– so who knows, maybe there will be.”
Platinum level sponsors for the Mingle concerts have been the Town of Vinton, the Vinton War Memorial, Twin Creeks Brewing Company, Vertex Signs, and Comfort Inn Valley View. Gold sponsors included Roanoke County, Freedom First, Vinton Roofing, and BB&T.
Silver level sponsors included HomeTrust Bank, Lotz, PFG, Cox Business, BNC Bank, Berkshire Health Care, the Vinton Moose Lodge, Magnets USA, Grand Rental Storage, GCR Tires & Service, and Cardinal IG. Bronze Level sponsors were The Vinton Messenger, Member One, Appalachian Power, and Winter Storage.
