Folks from all around flocked to Elizabethtown’s Cape Fear ATV Park for fun, festivities, and more this past Saturday. While the park expects to see anywhere from two-to-three hundred ATV riders every weekend, the crowd Saturday surpassed one thousand individuals; most lined up to see the Georgia-based, country-rap duo, better known as The Lac’s.
While speaking to park operator-owner Lynn Savage, he said that the event was “…the first of its kind,” and ensured that if it everything went well, that “…it would be the first of many more to come.”
After being at the park the day and night of the event, I think the people of Elizabethtown can prepare for many more events to take place at Cape Fear. The Lacs were set to take the stage at 9:00; however, due to unforeseen circumstances, the act was pushed back to 10:00.
The park’s manager, Danny Ludlum, explained that Cape Fear has seen several events already, just nothing of this caliber, “this is humongous to us, and the people are still coming in.” This was at 5:00- still a full five hours before the concert. Ludlum also explained, one of the main goals of this concert, and any future events, is to benefit the town of Elizabethtown. The park even provides free advertisements to vendors, allowing them to place banners and signs at the park gates at no charge. “We just want to grow and help Elizabethtown grow”, said Ludlum.
Both Savage and Ludlum have one concern- growing their presence in Bladen County. Mr. Savage explained that “…while the park sees a couple hundred riders every week, we can expect maybe 10 to 20 of them to actually be from Bladen County. We’ll probably have a couple thousand people here tonight… we might have 20 or so from Bladen County.” Ludlum echoed the same concerned moments later, explaining that “…people just don’t know that we are here.”
If the park can continue the momentum that it had this past Saturday, there is no doubt that the people of Bladen County will have Cape Fear ATV Park as a household name.
The country-rap duo took the stage at 10:00, and the crowd that had amassed centered itself from all over the park’s 450 acres to hear them play. The crowd included every type of all-terrain vehicle available, forming an intricate system of trucks, four-wheelers, dirt bikes, and utility vehicles, with the occasional group of pedestrians navigating from section to section to get a better view of the band.
The group focused on expressing their unique view of country heritage, played hits such as “God Bless A Country Girl”, “Kickin’ Up Mud”, and “Country Boy Fresh”. Before leading the crowd in “Just Another Thing”, Lacs’ members Brian King and Clay Sharpe stopped to pay their respects and give honor to the sacrifices that all of our nation’s soldiers make on a daily basis, both active and retired.
Afterwards, the crowd had a chance to meet with Brian ‘Rooster’ King, as well as Clay ‘Uncle Snap’ Sharpe, who stuck around to sign autographs, take photos, and talk with their fans. “Thank you all for having us, we’ve enjoyed it”, said the band before closing.
After months and months of preparation, the event was a success. A special thanks needs to go out to all of the Bladen County personnel that participated in keeping the event safe and in control.
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