Annual De-Rail-A-Bration to be held Saturday, Sunday
By Matt Shaw
Published in News on April 10, 2005 2:03 AM
Goldsboro is preparing to party like it's 1926.
The annual De-Rail-A-Bration returns Friday and Saturday to downtown Goldsboro. All events are centered around Pedestrian Plaza, corner of Chestnut and Center streets, in front of the police-fire building.
This year's festivities mark the 79th anniversary of the Center Street railroad tracks' "disappearance."
The festival will open from 6-9 p.m. Friday with food vendors and amusement park rides. People should bring lawn chairs and blankets so they can sit back and enjoy the Malpass Family from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Performing country, bluegrass and gospel, the Malpass Family consists of Chris and Andrea Malpass and their children Christopher and Taylor. Christopher plays acoustic guitar, Taylor the mandolin, and their father the upright bass, and all four sing with Christopher as the primary lead.
Saturday's activities kick off with the Greater Goldsboro Road Run, sponsored by the Sunrise Kiwanis. The 5-kilometer and 10-kilometer races begin at 8:30 a.m.
There will also be a children's fun run at 9:30 a.m. and all participants will receive medallions.
Beginning at 10 a.m., the Slowpoke Race will include members of the Goldsboro City Council and Wayne County commissioners, along with other well-known faces, competing on a block-long race.
Events planned from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. include amusement park rides, including tug boats, a rollercoaster and trackless train; carnival games; food and other vendors; police and fire tours; a train display by the Waynesborough Model Train Club; petting zoo; space walk; and a music stage.
The schedule for Saturday's entertainment is Shag Daddy's DJ, 10-11:30 a.m.; The Fun-Luvin' Steppers, 11:30 a.m.-noon; Katie McCloud, noon-12:30 p.m.; North Drive Percussion and Dance Ensemble, 12:30-1:30 p.m.; Goldsboro Ballet, 1:30 -2:15 p.m.; and Billy and the Boys country band, 2:30-3:15 p.m.
De-Rail-A-Bration commemorates April 2, 1926, when city employees and local laborers worked through the night to tear out the railroad tracks along Center Street. The work was planned by City Manager Claude Grantham and Alderman M. Emmet Robinson after the city had been unable to persuade the railroad companies to remove them. It reportedly cost the city $3,500 and 15 to 20 gallons of corn liquor to pay off the workers and swear them to secrecy.
For more information on the festival, call the Downtown Goldsboro Development Corporation at 735-4959.