Family festival celebrating democracy and voting held in downtown Aiken

Jun. 26—Attendees had the opportunity to participate in a mock election and select their favorite dog during Voices and Votes: An Aiken County Celebration on Saturday.

The Friends of the Animal Shelter, or FOTAS, provided the three canine candidates for the patriotic family festival, which was held on Newberry Street in downtown Aiken.

Kenna, Mary Carmen and Tristan were the choices, and all were eager to meet the people who would be casting ballots.

FOTAS Secretary Ellie Joos was hoping that one or more of the dogs from the Aiken County Animal Shelter would find a forever home.

"We're raising awareness about voting, but if we can get some adopted or we can get some new volunteers, those are all pluses," she said.

Among those who voted were Jessica and Torrey Johnson, who both chose Tristan.

"I thought he was the cutest," Jessica said.

Torrey liked Tristan for a different reason.

"His campaign manager just had a granddaughter graduate from Clemson, and I went to Clemson," Torrey said.

Kathy Lewis selected Mary Carmen.

"She looks just like my little dog, Jack," Lewis said.

Reached by telephone at midafternoon on Saturday, Joos didn't know the mock election's final results, but reported that the last time she checked before leaving around 12:15 p.m., Tristan was "way ahead."

And, Joos added, a family had expressed interest about going to the animal shelter soon to spend more time getting to know Tristan.

Joos, her FOTAS associates, and the canine candidates departed early because "the dogs were hot and tired," she said.

A Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibit known as Voices and Votes: Democracy in America is scheduled to open July 23 at the Aiken County Historical Museum.

Supporting events are being held locally, and Voices and Votes: An Aiken County Celebration, which began at 10 a.m. and ended at 2 p.m., was one of them.

A committee of community volunteers is the organizer of the supporting events, which also include a juried art exhibition and competition.

"We decided to do a multitude of things," said Historical Museum Executive Director Lauren Virgo.

"The festival was one of the biggest outreaches that we could pull together to invite people to come and learn about voting and learn about how they can be served by our community."

Karen Sisk with the League of Women Voters for the Columbia area was helping register voters. She also was reminding everyone she talked to about the primary runoff elections in South Carolina on June 28.

"We're encouraging people not to forget," she said, "and we're telling them about how they can find election information on VOTE411 (vote411.org)."

Also during the Voices and Votes festival, free hotdogs and water were available.

In addition, there were community service agency booths, a Corvette show, live music, dancers, a voting rights in America timeline and activities for children.

For more information about the Voices and Votes: Democracy in America exhibit and the supporting events, visit aikenvoicesandvotes.com.