Thousands are expected to gather in and around the Mathews historic court green to attend the 43rd annual Mathews Market Days festival, which will begin Friday and continue on Saturday. The festival is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days.

On Friday, arts and crafts, information booth and food vendors will open; while on Saturday, most of the main events are scheduled.

Mathews Market Days Committee chair Dee Russell said the event will continue with its mission to feature local and selected neighboring artists, craftsmen and -women, and musicians. This year’s event will be special, she said, in that it will celebrate the designation of Mathews Court House as a Downtown Historic Area. As part of Market Days, the committee will be offering walking and cycling tours of historic buildings in the downtown area.

According to Russell, Dominion Energy required the committee to remove the banner advertising Market Days from over Main Street due to high winds last week, but assured the ...