More than 120 years ago, in the late 1800s, Civil War veteran Daniel Sumrall settled near the Mississippi Central Railroad and opened a grist mill along Mill Creek; in 1903 the Town of Sumrall was incorporated and named in his honor.
To celebrate those beginnings, officials will hold the town’s inaugural Founder’s Day Festival on Oct. 2 in downtown Sumrall. The event is free and open to the public.
“We wanted to do something that was specific to Sumrall,” said Sabreya DeLancey, executive director of the Sumrall Main Street Association. “We have our Christmas parade and the Christmas festival that happens every year, and we have a large 4th of July event that our Lions Club puts on, but there was nothing, really, that just celebrated Sumrall.
“So we wanted to do something with our heritage or founding, so Founder’s Day just kind of makes sense. It goes along with fall, which of course is when everybody is happy that the heat wave is over and everything is nice outside.”
At 9 a.m., officials will hold a ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony for Mack Graham Road, which was former Center Lane. That road was recently realigned to negate the dangerous five-way intersection at City Hall Avenue, Main Street, Center Lane, Railroad Avenue and the Longleaf trace near the United States Post Office.
The dedication will be held at the intersection of Mack Graham Road and Mississippi 589.
A “Dogs in Duds” contest will allow participants to dress their dogs in their favorite costumes; participants can register their dogs at the Sumrall Main Street Tent outside of Sumrall Town Hall. The $5 entrance fee must be paid by 10:45 a.m., and judging will be held at the main stage at 11:15 a.m. by students from Sumrall Elementary School.
Ribbons will be awarded for Best Dressed, Most Seasonal Spirit, Cutest and Overall Winner.
Other tentative activities include a car show, pumpkin decorating contest, theatric storytelling, a walkable map of historic sites, and social media contests.
Vendors on site will offer arts, crafts, general merchandise and food.
“We’ll have lots of drawings and prizes and things going on throughout the day, as well as some live music,” DeLancey said. “We have some shopping things going on in town, and it should just be a really fun time.”
Mississippi 589 will be shut down near Sumrall Town Hall throughout the festival.
“We’re just kind of running with it,” DeLancey said. “It’s our very first (Founder’s Day Festival), so we’re going to try it out and see how the town likes it.
“We’ve gotten really good response with our online and social media marketing, and a lot of people in the town are really excited. Our vendors that are coming out are really excited just to be doing anything right now (after COVID-19 shutdowns). The pandemic has definitely affected us, but we’ve had a really good response, and people are excited just to be out and doing anything again.”
