ASHLAND — You didn’t have to walk far to find something interesting during Saturday’s Poage Landing Days festival in downtown Ashland.

Gangs of skateboarders wearing colors declaring home territories from Texas to Chicago and beyond congregated along 17th Street for the annual Southern Fried Cone Fest contest. Participants pitted their speed, balance and maneuverability against each other as well as the clock, using gravity to their full advantage to maneuver through different courses marked by cones along the downhill course.

“My wife, Jenny, always laughs at the outlaw reputation of skateboarders” said organizer Lenny Poage, 38, of Huntington and a direct descendent of Ashland’s founding family. After a run of his own, Poage explained the competitive core of the group includes an ICU nurse, an English teacher and a federal officer, among others.

“It is almost like a bunch of tongue-in-cheek biker gangs that all get along,” Poage said, noting the day’s competitors traveled from as far as Dallas to be a part of the action.

Participant Glenn Bukosky of Texas said he came back to Ashland to compete after he and friends had a great time here last year. “It’s always fun and it’s a laid-back atmosphere,” he said, noting the competitive edge can take over at other slalom skateboarding events.

Poage said this year’s racing attracted young and old competitors ranging from a 10-year-old Lucas Tolley to 52-year-old Bobby Thomas, an original member of the legendary Pepsi skateboard team during the ’70s who was making his runs in Ashland on a pair of new replacement knees. The field included several father-and-son teams, Poage said, including Evan and Dave Tolley, as well as Larry and Lucas Tolley.

Just around the corner on Winchester Avenue, fiddle fans nearly filled a First Baptist Church fellowship hall for the annual Ed Haley Fiddle Festival, which was hosted by musician and educator Nancy McClellan for the 17th consecutive year.

“She really brings people together for this kind of music,” observed musician Michael Garvin, whose tribute to Ed Haley earned him the grand champion spot during the 2007 competition. One of more than 120 players who put their skills to the test for this year’s title, Garvin said he felt pretty good about his chances of winning. Garvin said Haley’s style was distinctive, “Sort of more nimbler you’d say? I’d say he uses more notes than most fiddlers and he used his pinky like a violinist.”

After overhearing Garvin’s explanation of Haley’s signature sound and style, fellow competitor Andy Park of Charleston offered, “I hear a lot of blues in what he plays,” explaining Haley’s rendition of songs also performed by traditional musicians in Great Britain have a distinct influence of Africa evident. Park said Haley’s music has also served as an outstanding “bridge” between musicians in West Virginia and Kentucky.

Winners in this year’s fiddle contest were: Senior Division, 1st, John Harrod, Owenton; 2nd, Gerry Milnes, Elkins W.Va., and 3rd, Jack Helton, Campton; Adult contest: 1st, Jesse Milnes, Valley Bend, W.Va.; 2nd, Scott Miller, Catlettsburg, and 3rd, Tara Samson of Catlettsburg: Teen contest 1st Tessa Dillon, St. Albans; 2nd Kelsey Estep, Keaton, and 3rd, Aubrey Pearson of  Warren, Pa. Scott Miller of Catlettsburg was also awarded the title of grand champion .

On the next corner along Winchester Avenue, Stephen Salyers gave the crowd a shot of high-energy Nashville sounds, kicking off with a Texas-style boogie, often competing with the sounds of Harley-Davidson engines on nearby streets as a full slate of classic and custom cars and motorcycles filled the block in front of the Paramount Arts Center, as well as the city parking lot next door.

Back on the Heritage Stage on 17th Street, members of the Genuine Junk Band drew an ever-increasing crowd with their brand of jazz-infused jams, including a song called “Meatloaf Monday,” inspired by Jr’s Food Mart on 29th Street. “I haven’t been there in two years,” said singer Nathan Gillum. “I hope they are still doing that.”

As crowds flocked to the 15th street stage for pageants with nearly 70 contestants, Scott Miller, Saralyn Miller, Elijah Miller and Noah Miller, members of the all-family acoustic quartet Chigger Ridge of Catlettsburg attracted an appreciative audience in the middle of the street with their renditions of several old-time and string-band favorites. As the sun shifted shadows along the streets during the later afternoon, audience members shifted seats at the Heritage stage to better take advantage of the shade during a solo performance by Sasha Colette.

Poage Landing Days music and activities continued into the late evening with concerts on the main stage at 16th Street by Rick Huckaby, Chris Janson and headliner Aaron Tippin.

The annual festival continues today with main stage performances by the Highway 23 Road To Fame Show, Open Rail and The Grascals wrapping things up with a show starting at 4 p.m.

TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2651.