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Our 2025 Hiatus
Festival History
Mayberry Comes to Scottsburg started out as a dream and became reality in June 2023. A hard-working team of volunteers with the support of the city of Scottsburg, Scott County government, the Scott County Visitors Commission and many other sponsors planned a community festival to celebrate The Andy Griffith Show.
Thousands of people traveled from 12 states to join us in our little southern Indiana town. Several cast members from The Andy Griffith Show, family members of the cast, and over a dozen Mayberry Tribute Artists combined to turn Scottsburg into Mayberry for a weekend. There were musical shows, meet and greet opportunities, food and craft vendors, a parade and a car show.
The festival was such a success that it returned again in 2024. Again, thousands of Mayberry fans came to Scottsburg to enjoy the wonderful atmosphere created by our volunteers, sponsors and the Mayberry family. It seemed that a new tradition was well underway.
Key takeaways
- Mayberry Comes to Scottsburg is on hiatus for 2025
- Our team is beginning to plan for a return in 2026
- Save the dates of June 19-21, 2026 for our next festival
An Unexpected Timeout
As often happens in life, things can change in an instant. In November 2024 our family was rocked by a serious medical situation. Our son was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkins Lymphoma. This shocking news sent us reeling and required us to focus all our energy on medical appointments, treatment plans and other major life changes.
Of course, this was also the time when we needed to be doing the most important planning for our 2025 festival. While work is done year-round, the confirmation of much of the festival entertainment and logistics is done about 6-8 months out. This caused us to take a hard look at our situation. While we wanted very much to hold the festival this year, ultimately our family decided that our priority needed to be our son and doing everything we could to support him in his cancer battle. We had to put family first over the festival, so we called a “time out.”
The Good News
Now for some good news. Our son is progressing through chemotherapy. He has a way to go yet, but he’s received good reports regarding the effectiveness of the treatment. Our family is adapting to the many changes that have been needed to deal with a cancer battle. We’re all physically, emotionally, mentally and financially challenged, but we’ve been supported and encouraged all along the way by so many family and friends. In short, we’re still in the midst of the fight, but we’re landing some solid blows and victory is in sight.
You’ve heard to old saying, “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” Well, in a way our hiatus has caused many of us to have a greater appreciation for Mayberry Comes to Scottsburg and all it means to our community. Our team has received encouragement from the city of Scottsburg, Scott County government, the Scott County Visitors Commission and others as well as their commitment to supporting its return in 2026. This is very exciting and very gratifying.
Our team has begun preliminary planning for the 2026 version of the festival. We have some exciting ideas to build on the success of the first two years. June 2025 will be one year from the return of Mayberry Comes to Scottsburg. We’re planning some major announcements starting then and continuing over the remainder of 2025. So, stay tuned and begin making your plans to join us. You won’t regret it!
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