September 25, 2024 at 8:20 a.m.
56th Annual Hope Heritage Days Opens Friday
If there’s one thing to be said about the 56th Annual Hope Heritage Days opening this weekend, it’s that it will showcase a beautiful blend of all that makes Hope such a Surprising Little Town.
And for one former Hope resident, it is going to be the weekend of a lifetime.
Twenty-four-year-old singer/songwriter, and former Hope resident, Jenna Shoaf is set to make her Heritage Days debut when she takes the bandstand at 7 p.m. Saturday evening – and she couldn’t be more thrilled, she says.
Jenna Shoaf, 2024. Photo credit: Jenna Shoaf via Facebook.
“I haven’t been able to perform in front of my friends and family since I moved to Nashville, Tenn., two years ago,” she says. “I am extremely excited and I hope that I can make a positive mark on our community and do the small town of Hope proud.”
Shoaf’s hour-long set will include the performance of her first single “Civil War,” she says, a song that is set to be released later this year.
At its heart, the song gives voice to those relationships where the parties have drifted apart and, for whatever reason, there remains things unsaid, Shoaf says.
“You still share the same friend group and are around one another, so you have to be civil,” Shoaf explains. “Or you agree to be civil even though there is still this fight to be had that you’ve avoided. The whole idea is it is hard to be civil when there’s still a war.”
Hope’s Night Owl Country Band is set to take the main stage on Jackson Street at 6 p.m. prior to Shoaf’s performance and it too will be a special time for lead singer Matt Lee, whose sister Sara Lee Chapman will be taking the stage alongside Lee and the Night Owls playing the mandolin.
Night Owl Country Band (from left to right) Tim Dooley, John Barr, Kyndal Dixon, Matt Lee (center), Casey Johnson and Brandon Fields. Photo credit: Courtesy of NOCB and Joshua Adams Photography, Hope. “It is going to feel good,” Lee says. “Brother and sister getting back together to do Hope Heritage Days one more time.”
The guys will perform a setlist that includes original classics, including “Country to the Bone”, as well as covers of Sugarland and Miranda Lambert, Lee says. And, of course, they will be retaking the stage at 8 p.m. as they perform with iconic 80s TV star and musician Tom Wopat of “Dukes of Hazzard” fame.
“It is going to be a big hour of fun,” Lee says. “It will be a mixed bag – like a variety show. I think everyone will get a kick out of what we are doing.”
It is important to note that ALL PERFORMANCES will take place RAIN OR SHINE – with the rain location being the Hauser High School gym, Lee adds.
Just as in previous years, the WYGS Gospel Sing – featuring LaFevere Quartet – will begin at the Hauser High School gym at 6 p.m. Friday. Meanwhile on the bandstand, Caddo Parish and Dusty Leigh Huston will perform on the bandstand at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. respectively.
Saturday booths will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and there will certainly be a full day of activities for everyone.
This year will see the return of the Heritage Classic Cross Country Meet at 9 a.m., horseshoe tournament at 10 a.m. and a range of contests, shows and performances throughout the day and evening.
Meet-and-greets will be offered with “Turtleman at 10 a.m. on East Jackson Street and Tom “Luke Duke” Wopat from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the same location.
Sunday’s festivities begin at 9 a.m. when booths open and will include a worship service, a performance by the Banister Family Bluegrass Band on the bandstand and the annual Heritage Days Parade at 2:30 p.m.
“I always love playing Hope Heritage Days,” Lee says. “Getting to see all the familiar faces out in the crowd and being able to perform with one of my childhood heroes is going to be a blast.”
For more information about Hope Heritage Days visit HERE and for a full schedule of the weekend’s festivities and musical performances visit HERE.
