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Don Knotts' daughter, new events to highlight second Mayberry festival
DANVILLE -- Welcoming more than 4,000 visitors over two days last year, the first-ever Mayberry in the Midwest proved to be a rousing success. Expecting more visitors in its second year, organizers want to do even more as they have added another day, more ticketed events and additional free activities to the fun that made last year's festival so popular.
Danville will again be transformed into the iconic 1960s fictional community that was home to Andy, Opie, Aunt Bee and Barney for the Mayberry in the Midwest festival hursday through Saturday, May 15-17. Former cast members, tribute artists and even Don Knotts' real-life daughter, Karen Knotts, will take visitors on a journey inside their televisions to experience life in the Mayberry of the "Andy Griffith Show."
"We have been to other Mayberry festivals, and although it was Danville's first year hosting Mayberry in the Midwest, they did a great job making Danville feel like the fictitious town of Mayberry," said Tena MacDonald, an Indianapolis resident who attended last year's event. "Having tribute artists really takes you there and brings Mayberry to life. We were so excited to hear Karen Knotts is going to be in Danville this year. We saw her one-woman show in Mt. Airy (N.C.), and it was fantastic."
The three-day festival will surround the Hendricks County Courthouse Square with numerous themed activities, including a parade, Opie's World, Tractor Town, Squad Car Nationals, reruns of the show on the big screen at the Royal Theater, food and vendor booths.
Two original "Andy Griffith Show" cast members -- Maggie Peterson Mancuso, who portrayed Charlene Darling on the show, and Rodney Dillard, who played one of the Darling boys -- also will return.
Tribute artists reprising many of the show's most popular characters including Barney, Goober, Gomer, Floyd the Barber, Ernest T. Bass and others will sign autographs, mingle with fans and perform on stage.
Organizers also added new activities this year, including:
* Karen Knotts -- Sharing stories from life with her legendary dad.
* Mayberry After Dark -- Billed as part scavenger hunt, part pub crawl and part walking tour, it will include a one-of-a-kind keepsake and other surprises.
* Mike Toomey Comedy Show -- The comic will present his "Mayberry Centric" stand-up routine.
* Game Shows -- Mayberry-themed game shows with audience participation.
"Mayberry fans are loyal, dedicated and willing to travel a long way to be part of a Mayberry celebration," Christine Born, owner of the Mayberry Cafe and event organizer, said.
"Danville is a perfect community to host this event with its Main Street charm and hometown Americana personality," she added, "so we want to enhance that with new and creative ideas to keep this event entertaining and interesting. We learned a lot last year and a lot of what we changed and added reflects an effort to make this festival stand out."
The festival and most of the activities are free. However, a few events will require tickets.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit MayberryintheMidwest.com.