Burn Ban in Effect. All outdoor burning is prohibited in Franklin County.
Photography by Kristin Harrison
The 51 st Annual CountryFest was officially kicked off with the Posting of the Colors by American Legion 243, followed by an amazing a cappella performance of The Star-Spangled Banner sung by 2025 Junior Miss Mount Vernon, Nevaeh Huffstutler.
The entertainment opened with stellar performances from our Mount Vernon Middle School Cheer, High School Cheer, and Pee-Wee Cheer teams. We also had the First Baptist
Church of Mount Vernon Children’s Choir as well as the Ignite Kids from the First United Methodist Church, sharing the love and word of God through their musical talents. The
extremely gifted students from Movement Dance, The Studio, and Team Best wowed everyone with their routines!
Grace May, granddaughter of Lloyd and Tina Stone, sang two songs by her favorite artists. She even let her mom, Emily, join her in a duet to Taylor Swift’s “Enchanted”. Amanda Rainey and her daughter, Evelyn, graced the CountryFest stage with their vocal talents.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Posse Rodeo Royalty was introduced, including 2026 Sweetheart, Josephine Dove Jones, and 2026 Little Miss Austin Phillips. Following their introductions, the 2025 Miss Mount Vernon Royalty was recognized, and the contestants for the 2026 Miss Mount Vernon categories were introduced.
Mount Vernon native, Madeline Majors Dickison, gave a breathtaking vocal performance. Following Madeline, Mount Vernon High School Student and local performer, Levi Baker, took
the CountryFest stage for the very first time and blew everyone away! Finishing us out strong was the incredible Callie Howard, who shared her beautiful voice and musical talents on the guitar.
We were blessed to have so much talent, poise, grace, and beauty on the 2026 CountryFest stage, and we can’t wait to see what 2027 has in store!
