Each fall for that last nine years, the Mayberry-like town of Van Wyck has opened its doors and welcomed newcomers and oldtimers alike to "Celebrate Van Wyck."

The Celebrate Van Wyck festival this Saturday will feature the best parts of festivals past and a few new events, according to festival director Richard Vaughn.

New this year will be a rock climbing wall and a 50/50 drawing with half of the proceeds going to the raffle winner and the other half donated to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

A familiar site at the festival will be the long chain of thin-sliced potatoes being cut fresh at Cater's Taters booth. And like most years, the aroma of the fish fry by the White Oak AME Zion Church will draw a crowd, Vaughn said.

For the kids, the Van Wyck Express will be chugging along its tracks and the Van Wyck Mine will be open for children and adults to pan for gold and gems.

Vaughn's wife Linda is coordinating the arts and crafts vendors, some of whom come from Waxhaw, N.C., Charlotte and Rock Hill. They will sell homemade baskets, jewelry, dolls and more, she added, and the Catawba Reservation will have a booth set up with Native American pottery.

Business vendors also have a spot at the annual festival. Van Wyck's own Pampered Chef salesperson will have a booth. So will a local Mary Kay representative and a smoked meat distributor.

Rock Hill radio station WRHI will broadcast live from the festival.

Expect to see familiar faces from local government, Linda Vaughn said. Already, Senate District 16 candidates Mick Mulvaney and Mandy Powers-Norrell have signed up for a spot at the festival as well as House District 45 candidate Deborah Long and the Lancaster County Democratic Party.

The classic car show will return this year, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Gerald Sullivan Scholarship Fund.

Proceeds from the festival will go towards helping maintain the Van Wyck Community Center. Last year, the festival raised approximately $5,000 from the car show and more than $5,000 for the community center fund.

Each year, Linda Vaughn said, she looks forward to the chance to see people she hasn't seen since the last festival. She likes to spend time visiting with the vendors and greeting festival-goers from out of town, she added.

"People look forward to coming and we seem to draw them," she said.

"I really just think it's the feeling of hometown flavor. It's not so big that you get lost. It's just a good community."

But for an exhausted Richard Vaughn, who has spent the week battling a tree dangerously close to falling on the Van Wyck Community Center and coordinating the dozens of vendors, games and festival details, Celebrate Van Wyck is a day for him to sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labors.

"My favorite thing is the car show," Richard Vaughn said.

"I'm hoping for good weather. I guess I ought not be talking about it, but hopefully this will be the 10th year with no rain."