Exhibitors sought for event in Dinwiddie

Event organizers are seeking exhibitors for the 13th annual Southside Virginia Heritage Days in Dinwiddie County. The event will be April 4-5 and features 19th-century living-history demonstrations, as well as tours of the 1803 plantation house Fork Inn.

Heritage Days commemorates the anniversary of the Civil War Battle of Sutherland Station that took place at Fork Inn April 2, 1865. The free, family-oriented, educational event was started 13 years ago by Darrell Olgers, owner and resident of Fork Inn. It includes a variety of civilian and military living-history demonstrations and displays celebrating and educating the public about life in Southside Virginia in the early and mid-1800s.

Exhibitors will include soap makers, storytellers, cooking demonstrators, distillers, and artisans and crafters of 19th-century items such as baskets, leatherworkings, weaving, furniture, etc. Nineteenth-century entertainers also are invited, including musicians, singers and dancers, as well as both military and civilian living-history interpreters. Those with baby farm animals who would like to share their pets with the public are welcome, too.

Exhibitors are not paid. Those who wish to sell items at the event are responsible for obtaining vendors' licenses required by the county and state.

Lunch and baked goods will be provided by Corinth and Trinity United Methodist churches of Dinwiddie County.

Historic Fork Inn is in Sutherland 10 minutes west of Petersburg at the intersection of U.S. 460 and state Route 708 (Namozine Road) in Dinwiddie.

From Richmond or Petersburg, take Interstate 95 south to I-85 south, Exit 61. Turn right onto U.S. 460 west, drive 4 miles and turn right on Route 708 (immediately past the Texaco gas station). Historic Fork Inn is on your left. Free parking is available.

For more information on participating in Southside Virginia Heritage Days, call (804) 943-2283 or (804) 304-4200, or e-mail .