More than 30 booth spaces have been registered for this year’s Opp Fest and many more vendors are expected to join in the event before the entertainment begins on Sat., Oct. 25, at 9 a.m.

Kyle Gantt, a coordinator for the Tenth Annual Opp Fest celebration, said booth registrations will be accepted up until the day of the event and he expects many more individuals to register this week.

“We take booths up until the last week,” he said. “We would like to encourage people to give us a call if they are interesting in having a booth at Opp Fest. We are probably at 35 booths right now. Historically we have over 50 and many people wait until the week before the event to register.”

According to the Alabama Department of Tourism’s website, Opp Fest is a Harvest Celebration held in downtown Opp the last weekend of October each year. The event features arts, crafts, entertainment, food, car shows, motorcycle shows, and a “Bikers” Ride around the city limits of Opp.

“I would invite everyone from all throughout the county to join us on Oct. 25,” Gantt said. “This is the 10th year we have celebrated Opp Fest and its has grown in size every year.”

According to Vaughn Bowers, chairman of this year’s Opp Fest festivities, the event has become a staple Covington County culture.

“It is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy a beautiful fall day with other members of your family, your friends and other people from throughout the county,” Bowers said. “It will not cost a lot of gas. There are no admission fees to any of the entertainment. If you want to buy a sausage dog or anything from the vendors, then you will be minimally expensed.”

The Downtown Revitalization Association will also sponsor the first annual Opp Fest Art Car Show this year. Residents are invited to bring out their decorated old cars, roller blades, lawn mowers, golf carts, tractors, wagons or anything on wheels.

Bowers said entertainment will begin at 9 a.m. and a large area of downtown will be restricted to pedestrian only traffic during the day’s events.

“There will be food vendors, T-shirt vendors, arts and craft vendors,” he said. “There will be art for sale and on display. This year, one of centers will be the Old Train Depot. It will be open to the public and there will be booths set up inside.

“We are excited about the depot being open to the public, since it is now owned by the city,” he added. “The children’s art from South Highland Elementary, Opp Middle School and Opp High School will be on display inside the depot.”

According to Bowers another first for Opp Fest this year will be the addition of a performance stage that will include an act for young adults.

“There will be a second stage for entertainment this year, which will be host the band Flat Line,” he said. “Their sound is more designed for the young people. I would describe their sound as a nice blend of country and rock.”

Stage “B” will be set up in the pavilion area behind MD’s Cafe off of Main Street in downtown Opp.

Other acts on the schedule for Opp Fest include a performance of the “National Anthem” by Annie Ball to kick off the day, the Double Nickel Band, Fertile Ground, Praises For, Turman Family Bluegrass, Ashley Paige, Anna Garrot, Lamar Morris, Perry Kitching, Destiny Seven and several others.