Annual Seaboard Festival celebrates history and community

HAMLET — The Seaboard Festival returned for its 42nd year last Saturday, celebrating Hamlet’s history as the “Hub of the Seaboard.”

The annual festival, held on the last Saturday of October, takes place in downtown Hamlet on Main Street and featured a variety of activities, including a 5K race, car show, live performances, artisan vendors, a children’s costume contest and food stands, but a key focus of the festival is preserving the rich history of Hamlet.

“I hope that people appreciate history and the fact that Hamlet does such a great job of preserving history, also recognizing the past and how important rail was as far as transportation, jobs — everything,” said Race Director Mechelle Preslar.

This event also serves as a homecoming for former Richmond County natives. Cameron Carpenter, the first-place female winner of the Seaboard Festival 5k shared that she now lives in Monroe, North Carolina, but she and her husband return each year.

“It’s where I’m from. My husband and I call it our hometown 5K,” said Carpenter.

The festival also provides a chance for residents to kick off their holiday shopping while enjoying the local food.

“I’ve been coming to this festival for as long as I can remember. It’s where I do most of my Christmas shopping, and most importantly, I get to buy my favorite foods — powdered donuts and lemonade,” said Sarah Thompson, a junior at Richmond Senior High School.

Carpenter, Ferguson win 40th Seaboard 5K

The 5K race hit a new milestone, with a record breaking 333 runners crossing the starting line. First place winners in both the female and male divisions received an everlasting honor– a brick engraved with their names to be installed at the Hamlet Visitor’s Center. This year, Cameron Carpenter won the women’s division and Zachary Ferguson took first in the men’s race.

“I feel good,” Carpenter said. “You know, it’s a really tough course, and I’ve run it for about five to six years now, so this is my first overall women’s win.”

Ferguson was significantly pleased with reaching his goal.

“I was excited, I was happy. I hit pretty much my goal time for the day, so that was good,” Ferguson said.

Proceeds from the event will support the Seaboard Festival 5K Scholarship and the Lee “Iceman” Watson Memorial Scholarship. The race reserves bib number one for Watson, one of the founding members of the 5K.

“I hope people take away from the run that anybody can come out here and do the 5K. We welcome runners and walkers,” said Race Director Mechelle Preslar.

In addition to the race’s competitive spirit, the community had an opportunity to give back by purchasing T-shirts and tumblers, with all proceeds going toward the scholarships.