By keeping their mouths shut and their arms crossed, the majority of the Morven Town Council in effect refused to allow a group of citizens to hold a community festival Oct. 3 on Main Street in the town.

The controversy started several months ago, when the council voted to no longer fund October Fest, an annual festival that usually draws about 3,500 people to the town during the first weekend in October. Instead, the council turned over the planning of the event to the town's beautification committee. In a letter printed in the Aug. 29 issue of The Anson Record, the beautification committee officially canceled the festival, citing a lack of cooperation with the town in planning the event. As a result, a group of Morven-area citizens joined together and began planning a new event to be held Oct. 3, which they named the Unity Festival.

Over the past few weeks, the group has met several times to organize and planned to present a plan to the town council at its meeting Monday night, Sept. 14.

At the group's meeting Sept. 9, they named Rev. C. Tommy Peague as chairman. Rev. Peague spoke on behalf of the group at Monday night's council meeting, explaining a little bit of background about how the new festival came about.

"How come it's unity and everybody's welcome to come, but I only happened to hear about it through the grapevine?" said Mayor Pro Tem Susan Woodburn. "It was kept secret. And that did not sit well with me."

Rev. Peague stated that it was not a private meeting and Pastor Iris Tillman, who also helped organize Unity Festival, stated that she'd distributed flyers in the community, mostly to area churches and had not intentionally kept the planning meetings secret from anyone. Tillman apologized to Woodburn, reiterating that nothing had been secret.

Mayor Carolyn Solomon asked Woodburn if she was satisfied with Tillman's answer. "I'm satisfied with the answer but my feelings haven't changed," Woodburn said. "I feel this has been done behind certain board members' backs."

"We came here tonight to ask you all for your approval to have the Unity Festival," Tillman said. "We did not intentionally set out to offend anybody. We were under the impression that the ... beautification committee had given it up. ... The purpose of the meetings was to get together, to come here tonight and give you what we had to receive your approval so the Unity Festival can happen."

Rev. Peague said that he was misinformed and "will not be part of this." He left the meeting, without further explanation.

Sheila Pratt, secretary of the Unity Festival planning group, then read her detailed notes from each of the planning meetings. After she spoke, Rev. Donnie Pratt and Lorenzo Steele took the floor, laying out a detailed budget for Unity Festival. Pratt and Steele said they were concerned that the only issue in having the festival appeared to be its funding and decided to work up a detailed budget.

After a bit of discussion, council member Alvin Solomon said he didn't feel the council needed to make another decision, since it had already decided to turn the October festival over to the public.

Council member Rhonda Johnson asked why October Fest was canceled. Beautification committee chair Dianne Atkinson said the committee did not receive the paperwork necessary to plan the event and was also concerned about lack of funding. She went on to say the committee did not have the cooperation of the mayor.

There was also a disagreement about the election of officers for the beautification committee. Mayor Solomon had asked that Sheila Pratt be appointed secretary, although Beth Eddins had previously been secretary/treasurer. At the meeting during which officers were elected, Eddins left the meeting, upset.

"What is set before you is the question of, will you allow the citizens, because the beautification committee canceled theirs, ...will you allow them to hold this festival?" Mayor Solomon asked.

After a moment, council member Solomon motioned to allow the festival but no one seconded. Council members Johnson, Woodburn and Annie Townsend sat silently as the mayor repeatedly asked for a second. "Do we have a second from the board elected for and by the people, not for their own selfish motives?" she asked, then called on the council members individually. Still, no one spoke up.

"This is the board that you elected," the mayor told the audience. "This is the board that has stopped everything that has come about in the town of Morven."

Pastor Tillman asked why the council would not support the festival but received no immediate answer.

Finally, Woodburn commented that the festival had been turned over to the beautification committee and it should be their responsibility to plan a festival.

"This is a sad day for me," Steele said, adding that he voted for everybody on the council but would not vote for them again. "Do you think we should support you?"

Mayor Solomon then launched into a speech, saying that October Fest was originally a vision given to her by God. She also said she resented that the Unity Festival was not being allowed because certain council members had a grudge against her. She said it started when a town employee resigned and she refused to receive his resignation.

"The town has to go forward," she said. "I don't work on a hidden agenda."

She then went on to talk about the controversy over the beautification committee officers, saying that Pratt was "tormented" at the next beautification committee meeting. Atkinson also said she felt bullied at that meeting.

"There was no name calling," the mayor said, at which point Woodburn said, "I'm leaving on that note."

"You have really showed your true colors," the mayor replied.

Atkinson later said that the mayor did call her names at that meeting, which the mayor denied.

Pastor Tillman spoke again, addressing the remaining council members, calling their behavior "inappropriate." "You haven't said no but you haven't said yes," she said. "We are somebody. You looked down at us and looked down your noses at us."

Tillman demanded a yes or no answer but still received none.

Johnson and Townsend left before the meeting finally adjourned at 10:40 p.m.

Steele vowed that he would do whatever possible to make sure the festival still happens.

On Tuesday, Unity Festival coordinator Ethel Gatewood said that she was checking with several state authorities to see what the citizens could do to still have the Unity Festival in Morven on Oct. 3. She also plans to make a formal complaint against the town council for its behavior at Monday night's meeting.