MumFest celebrates the beauty, resiliency of New Bern

Mums are a striking perennial flower. If planted right, they will come back year after year. For the people of New Bern, North Carolina and the surrounding community, making a comeback was the theme for this year’s MumFest in downtown New Bern.

An annual celebration of the various arts that call this historic area home, the festival had new meaning in the wake of the destruction Hurricane Florence left in New Bern, especially in the downtown area where the festival took place.

Going on 38 years, MumFest brought out a huge crowd who came to see the local art and experience the culture.

The opportunity to interact with many people and enjoy festivities on a sunny, gorgeous day brought out organizations of all kinds who set up booths along the downtown streets.

“We have been established in New Bern for more than 65 years,” said Bobby Edwards, Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2514 adjutant. “We have been attending MumFest for many years and always enjoy the chance to engage veterans and community residents, so they can learn what we’re about. Helping veterans is our mission and we want them to know we are here for them.”

MumFest offered a wide variety of arts and food vendors as well as carnival rides, live entertainment including a Friday night concert featuring the country group Dan + Shay, a giant slide, car show and helicopter display.

“We have a total of six aircrafts here today,” said Gerald Phelps, North Carolina Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association vice president. “There are three Hueys, a Cobra, a Bell OH-58 Kiowa and a Hughes OH-6 Cayuse. We take aircrafts out to these events to educate people about the Vietnam War and the history behind it. It is a joy to do this work and we love to be out here with the people.”