The list of the entertainment for the annual Downtown Celebrations held from May through December was released during the Hillsville Town Council meeting on Oct. 22. Keith Andrews, who books groups for the Smoke on the Mountain Festival in Galax, handled the bookings for council.

The Catalinas kick off the Downtown Celebrations on May 11, 2013 and are followed by The Tams on June 8, The Craig Woolard Band on July 13, the Rick Strickland Band on Aug. 10 and The Fantastic Shakers on Sept. 14. As usual, a Cruise-In will be held in conjunction with the music.

Each celebration has been scheduled for the second Saturday of each month, a fact that should create a larger turnout.

“By keeping the car shows and music on the same time each month, we will avoid conflicting with other events,” said Mayor Greg Crowder. “That’s an open date for most of the car shows in North Carolina, where a lot of the cars in our Cruise-In come from. It’ll give people something to do and bring money into the town..”

The council is also working on at least one and possibly more gospel music shows. Councilman David Young, who has been working on the sponsorship aspect of the shows, said he had “two sponsors who are willing to give $1,500 each.”

“We’re really going to try and take it to the next level,” said Crowder. “We’re looking at some of the top gospel bands. Christians should have something just as big and just as nice (as the Cruise-In).”

Crowder added that the county has agreed to sponsor one such gospel event.

“I think it will be a great event for the town and Carroll County. We’re talking about some high profile gospel groups,” added Andrews.