AYDEN, N.C. (WNCT) – Ayden is a small town with a big history. The people who live there will be celebrating 132 years in a big way with their first “Founders Day” celebration.

“This will be the first time we’ve had an event like this, where we are bringing together community members from all over the place,” Founders Day Chairperson Georgia Childs said.

The event kicks off Friday evening with a community celebration.

“We are going to recognize the oldest citizen we could find, she’s 100 years old, and we’re going to celebrate her and then all the different stories about the history of Ayden,” Childs said.

A project this big required a team with Downtown Ayden Inc. and the Ayden Museum partnering for the event.

“We are working closely with the museum to really showcase Ayden’s history of being a flourishing town and working really hard to bring people to town,” Childs said.

Activities include an art show with pieces from local schools, museum tours, a disc golf tournament, a car show and live music. Childs said these festivities could bring waves of people to the area.

“We have a disc golf tournament that’s happening on Saturday, and we’ve got about 75 people coming from all over North Carolina to play disc golf in the cold,” Childs said. “They will be frequenting all of our businesses downtown.

‘We’re going to give them a list of places that we want them to go and get discounts on food, drinks, any of the businesses that we have, so I do think that we’ll see a little bit of a boost in business.”

Event organizers said they also wanted to thank their sponsors: Coltrain Home and Hardware, Southern Bank, Electricities, Inc., Cross and Crown, Sam Jones BBQ, The Angela Haddock Agency, Cinderenes, Daniel Heffner Realty Group, Quality Auto Care, Langley Computer, G$ and Family, K&T Design Co., CPU Unlimited, Linda’s Florist, Gwendy’s Goodies, SLS Customs, and Minges Bottling Company.

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