Friday, two monolithic events join forces for a Milton spectacular of the ages: the Scratch Ankle Festival and Bands on the Blackwater. Festival goers will have three hours of savory food and local crafts fun starting at 4 p.m. before Not Quite Fab takes the stage with their own renditions of Beatles hits such as “Help!” and “She Loves You.”
While the Scratch Ankle festival, named after Milton’s original name, has always drawn crowds, surely more will come with Bands on the Blackwater kicking off its season right on the other side of Highway 90. Boaters who normally dock for the Bands show may wish to cruise in a few hours early to partake in the Scratch Ankle festivities before the Beatles cover band takes the stage.
Katie Nichols, events coordinator in the City of Milton’s Parks and Recreation department, said this was just the purpose of her plan, “Myself and John Norton, the Parks and Rec director, when we were selecting the weekend (for Scratch Ankle), we thought it would be a really good kickoff for the concert series and get more people to Scratch Ankle. We’ve had people request in the past more music. We thought what a great way to get more entertainment to the venue…and give the people what they want.”
While the two events are iconic for Milton, Scratch Ankle has seniority. The Milton Youth Council over 30 years ago came up with the idea for the community party. Its name they decided upon based on legend. According to historians, the area was also referred to by one of its most irritating features by pirates who would anchor their ships loaded with treasure in the Blackwater River. The thorny briars of the river bank would tear at their ankles as they brought their booty ashore.
Nichols said, “It’s bigger than it has been, certainly bigger than last year. We’ve added additional booths, and gone farther north than we have in the past. We have a very full house, a variety of different food booths, different game booths, and craft booths.” With delicious options like fried Oreos, shish kabobs, churros, popcorn, cotton candy, tacos, French fries, fried fish, fried okra, oriental food, fried chicken, curry, sausage, and more, festival goers should come with an appetite.
The parks department isn’t done creating dynamic duos with Bands on the Blackwater and other events. Starting April 17, Nichols said, will be a four-week Riverwalk Market. Beginning at 5 p.m. and running roughly to 9 p.m., she said there will be food, farmers, homemade crafts, baked goods, art, unique local products like honey people are going to be selling. “We are still accepting applications for vendors,” Nichols said. The idea, was “to give people more to do particularly during the break during the middle of the concert. It’s a great time to do a little shopping and get some good food,” said Nichols. To get in on the action with the market, contact Nichols at 983-5466.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Ankle bands or Scratch the Blackwater?