WYTHEVILLE, Va. – Though the actual date is still more than three months away, tourism officials in Wythe County are already busy preparing for one of the most trafficked annual events in the region – the U.S. 21 Road Market.

Like previous years, the +100 mile long three-day road market will stretch from Wytheville to Harmony, North Carolina, passing through a dozen localities along historic U.S. Route 21.

The multistate road market is part of an initiative known as “Take a Break from the Interstate,” a committee comprised of tourism leaders from western North Carolina and southwest Virginia.

Slated for July 29 – 31, 2016, this year’s third annual U.S. 21 Road Market will feature hundreds of yard sales, sidewalk sales and community events along the route.

Wythe County Tourism Director Jeremy T.K. Farley said road market officials are seeking to get the word out about the dates for this year’s event as early as possible.

“Each year, this single event brings thousands of tourists into our community – translating to tens of thousands of dollars going directly into the pockets of local residents and businesses,” said Farley.

Bobby Primm, co-owner of the Lakes to Florida Grill, just south of the town limits of Wytheville, said that his restaurant saw 907 transactions in a single day.

“Many of these transactions had five or six people – for a little country restaurant, that’s huge,” said the restaurant owner.

Last year’s road market produced record sales for eateries along Wythe County’s Grayson Turnpike and county officials are hoping that this year’s event will be even larger.

“At this point, we’re simply encouraging residents to save the dates of July 29-31, 2016. The road market has proven to be a huge deal for our community and we want to make for sure that residents are aware of this year’s dates,” said Farley.

Additional information may be found on the U.S. 21 Road Market’s official website: www.us21roadmarket.org.

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