Keith Badgley (left) was all smiles shortly after receiving his Blue Ribbon Award for his shop, "C&Ohhh Ice Cream Depot" during tonight's Community Gathering event. —pictured alongside Town Manager, Chuck Unroe (right).

Community Gathering Talks Blue Ribbon Award Winner, Green Pastures, Juneteenth, and Fridays in the Forge By Jennifer Bailey Staff Writer   Clifton Forge, VA (May 15, 2025)— This evening's 'Clifton Forge Community Gathering' was a highly informative one for residents. To kick things off, Mott Atherholt and Town Manager Chuck Unroe presented Keith Badgley, co-owner of the C&Ohhh Ice Cream Depot, with the 2024 Blue Ribbon Award. The intent of the award was to honor Badgley for all his and his staff's work on their building before and since their opening in December. There were two videos played at the hour-and-a-half long meeting tonight: one was an eight-minute-long video titled, "A Year in Clifton Forge," featuring the numerous shops, events, parades, etc. which all happen over the course of a year in the town of Clifton Forge. The other was a 15-minute video narrated by Dr. Josh Howard titled, "History and Context of Green Pastures." "Green Pastures," also referred to as the "Longdale Day Use Area," is particularly special to African Americans in our area. When Douthat State Park opened in 1936, a time of segregation in the United States, it was a whites-only park, as were all state parks at that time. "Green Pastures" was then reserved specifically by the US Forest Service for African American use. There is an upcoming event on June 15, 2025, to celebrate 85 years since the opening of "Green Pastures" which will run from 3 p.m.—6 p.m. at the "Green Pastures Recreation Area," located at 201 Green Pasture Trail in Clifton Forge. More information on this event and the history of "Green Pastures" can be found here: https://www.moremountainstories.org/green-pastures . In addition to the videos shown, several speakers took to the mic to discuss many upcoming events in Clifton Forge. Among those are the Juneteenth celebrations to be held both in Covington and Clifton Forge. In Covington, Juneteenth organizer, Marie Fitzpatrick noted that it would be held on Saturday, June 14th from 11 a.m.—4 p.m. at Jeter Watson Park, located at 524 East Pine Street in Covington. According to the flyer handed out at the Community Gathering, there will be free food, fun, dance, games, giveaway prizes, Juneteenth history lessons, guest speakers, special entertainment, and children's activities. All are invited to the event, which has been generously sponsored by Juneteenth Legacy United. Clifton Forge organizer Lamona West then spoke on the Clifton Forge celebration of Juneteenth, which will be held on Thursday, June 19th, from 11 a.m.—4 p.m. This year's theme is "Resilience and Hope: Voices of the Past, Visions of the Future." The event will be held at Washington Park and will feature vendors, speakers, free food, a DJ, and bouncy house. Autumn Morgan, co-owner of "Four Moons Designs," discussed the upcoming "Fridays in the Forge" dates this summer. Those dates are: June 27th, July 25th, August 29th, with Saturday, September 27th concluding the summer-long event with "Finale in the Forge." The events will feature the "Downtown Market," live music, vendors, food, family fun, and beverages. Finally, Bill Atherholt took the mic to close the meeting, pointing out several other upcoming events for the summer. These events include: "Flag Day" on June 14th at 5:30 p.m. at the Historic Masonic Ampitheatre, which will jointly celebrate the birthday of the U.S. Army; a special "Independence Day" event at the C&O Railway Heritage Center, located at 705 Main Street in Clifton Forge, on July 3rd at 6 p.m. This event will feature music, vendors, and, perhaps most importantly, a fireworks show at 9 p.m.; a 4th of July celebration on Main Street, beginning at 11 a.m. with the annual "Independence Day Parade" followed by a special ceremony in Veteran's Park, and concluding in the Historic Masonic Theatre to recognize First Responders. Due to the number of events going on in Clifton Forge in the month of June, there will be no Community Gathering meeting. The next Community Gathering is scheduled for July 17th at 6:30 p.m. at the Historic Masonic Theatre. Gayle Hillert, member of the Community Gathering and President of the Masonic Theatre Preservation Foundation, was among the many speakers of tonight's meeting. Marie Fitzpatrick spoke on the upcoming Juneteenth event in Covington, which will be held on Saturday, June 14th, at Jeter Watson Park. Lamona West offered many details on the annual Clifton Forge Juneteenth event. The theme this year is "Resilience and Hope: Voices of the Past, Visions of the Future," and will be held at Washington Park on June 19th.

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