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Parade Banner Suggestions

Whether you’re marching in Sparta’s annual Christmas Parade or making a special appearance in the Independence Day parade in Independence, VA, you want your banner to be seen. And caring for it properly will allow you to re-use it for a long time.

For a good, visible parade banner, we generally suggest 3 foot x 8 or 10 foot size. (Our banners are made  with double grommets every 2 feet, so we sell them in 2-foot increments.) For parades, we’ve had good luck attaching banners to a closet rod or stairway hand-rail. They’re easily available at home improvement stores already sanded.

Get one approximately 4 feet longer than the banner so that the two carriers can walk without kicking it and use zip ties to attach the banner to the pole.

Parade Banner Idea from Imaging Specialists.
Parade Banner Idea from Imaging Specialists.

For added stability, attach a second rod to the bottom. This one should be cut the length of the banner- again so the carriers don’t kick it. Sometimes, when high winds are in the forecast, we cut curved vents into banners so wind can pass through.

Here are some Banner Care tips:

  • Secure it
    When hanging your banner, secure it well. Otherwise, the wind can catch it and whip the corners. Our banners have grommets every two feet for easy hanging.
  • Roll it
    Loosely roll your vinyl banner with the vinyl facing outward. Don’t fold it or put anything very tight, like a rubber band, around it which could permanently crease or warp it.
  • Clean it
    Do not use solvents to clean your banner. Wipe it down with a damp, soft cloth. If needed, use a mild detergent or soap and water. Wipe clean with soft cloth. Do not use harsh solvents. Make sure your banner is completely dry before storing it.
  • Store it
    Store the banner in a cool, dry place. Don’t store your banner in extremely high temperatures, such as a car trunk, attic or storage building.

Need a new banner? Contact us for pricing. If you have any problems with your banner, or any additional questions concerning care, contact us at info@imagingspecialists.net or 336-372-3002.

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Christmas Bookfest – December 8

Join us Thursday evening, December 8, for our Christmas Bookfest – book signings at The Sparta Store.

Authors Kate Clay Bodeen (NCSH Award Winner Pat Crisp, Like a Moth to the Flame) and Dr. Suzanne Mellow Irwin (The Stratford Oaks Tales), as well as illustrator Zach Hamm (The Stratford Oaks Tales) will be here from 3:00 till 6:00 that afternoon. A representative from High Country Hospice will also have copies of their award-winning cookbook, Meals and Memories, available.

In addition to having your book signed, you’ll have a chance to learn about their upcoming projects.

Also, you’ll be able to check out the latest release from Star Route Books, Regimental History of the 61st NC Infantry. This is the second in our popular history book series and others are planned for release next year.

We’ll also have some edible treats. The Alleghany Historical Museum is hosting a Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours event and is planning to have goodies for everyone. Alleghany County Library is co-hosting the event.

Our neighboring shops on Main Street will also have extended hours December 8. Be sure to stop by Backwoods Bean, Murphy’s Mercantile, and Studio Redwood that evening and support our local merchants and businesses.

Download a PDF of the event flyer!

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November 17 & 18 – Class & TV Show

Next Thursday night, November 17th at 6:30, Jeremy Halsey will lead a class at the Alleghany County Public Library. The class will focus on Internet Radio, TV and movies, and how to purchase and download music legally.

There is no charge for the class, but registration is required. To register or for more information, contact the Library at 336-372-5573 or contact Jeremy through his site.

The next night, Friday the 18th, at 7, the Special Christmas Show at the Alleghany Jubilee will be filmed. Admission will be just $5.

Make plans to attend 1 (or both!) of these events!

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Rack Cards & Web Pages to Promote Your Business!

An attractive rack card is an important marketing tool in the mountain country. Most of the time, tourists come to an area like ours with an idea of something to do, but not everything they might want to do- they just know they’ll find something when they get here.

New Rack Card for Sam & Edna Miller Christmas Tree Farm Featuring Their Own Beautiful Scenic Views
New Rack Card for Sam & Edna Miller Christmas Tree Farm Featuring Their Own Beautiful Scenic Views

That’s how a great brochure can help. You can’t be at the camp ground, the hotel, the Visitors Center and all the area restaurants at the same time- but your information can be.

A glossy, eye-catching rack card from Imaging Specialists can promote your enterprise and point potential customers to your site, like no other promotional item.

Think about it: A family is finishing breakfast and looking for something to fill in before the reunion this afternoon. At the card rack outside the restaurant they find your card featuring your own photos, contact information, maps and directions to your website.

Online they find PDFs to download outlining your policies and open times, or coupons, or recipes, or whatever information you’d like to communicate to a potential patron.

With just a little advance work, you are automatically attracting customers.

Send your latest rack card to your newsletter list. Remind loyal customers to check out the new info on your web site. In fact…

Point Everything to Your Webpage

Rack Card for the new Village Emporium in Sparta.
Rack Card for the new Village Emporium in Sparta.

Use all static marketing, like billboards, pamphlets, brochures and rack cards to point to update-able advertising, like your site. That way, you only need to make updates to your policies, store hours, product list, etc. in one place.

Make even “standard” forms you use everyday, downloadable PDFs at your site. Rather than on your hard drive, store latest versions on your server, so that you don’t have to update multiple files in multiple locations.

Imaging Specialists is not just different in how we manage sites- compared to traditional hosting companies, we’re downright revolutionary!

Our standard hosting package includes up to an hour each month of text and image swaps. That means your changes and updates are easier (and less expensive) than ever before.

Do you need printed marketing materials or a new web presence?
Contact ISI today! 336-372-3002

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Alleghany Jubilee Ready to Go ‘ON THE AIR’

New Alleghany Jubilee on TV Logo
New Alleghany Jubilee on TV Logo

Imaging Specialists and the Alleghany Jubilee are partnering up to produce a television show featuring the Old-Time, mountain music that the Jubilee has presented for almost 18 years.

Jubilee owners, Ernest and Agnes Joines are experts at producing their unique and entertaining shows, but have teamed with ISI and the young technicians of Alleghany Community Television to record and broadcast these initial episodes (hopefully, the first of many). The team plans to produce a Christmas Show to be taped November 18, 2011.

Charles Scott, ACTV’s station manager, is listed as Director in the credits, but he has trained his crew so well, the position is almost unnecessary. According to Charlie, “Daniel Caudill is a Junior at Alleghany High School, but he already knows more than I do about the system we use.”

Daniel is a quiet young man who sat in the back of the auditorium adjusting sound levels and switching input from the two cameras, manned- or make that operated by other AHS students (and graduates) Destiny Blevins, Amber Call and Natalie Marion. Throughout the evening- nearly 3 hours!- these kids impressed us with their knowledge and skill.

Alleghany Community Television will broadcast the show in two parts, Thursdays at 7PM, just before the Alleghany Historical – Genealogical Society’s new interview show, Alleghany Memories.

DVDs of the entire show (both parts), as well as Alleghany Memories, will be available at The Sparta Store for $20.

Ernest in 1961, on I've Got a Secret
Ernest in 1961, on I've Got a Secret

Ernest Joines is a life-long, mountain musician and is listed on the Blue Ridge Heritage website. Ernest was featured on Gary Moore’s, I’ve got a Secret in 1961. His secret? He designed and operated a one man band.

Agnes Joines is on the town council and currently serves as Mayor pro tem of the town of Sparta. She also Chairman of the local Blue Ridge Opportunity Commission (BROC) and has organized and run an annual Hillbilly Variety Show for several years to raise money for the Alleghany Planning Committee, BROC’s local arm, which helps local citizens with winter heating bills and weatherization projects. They also help with the local Head Start and have a home garden seed distribution program.

Imaging Specialists helped with post production and graphics, generating opening and closing credits. ACTV is currently available in approximately 4500 households in the region across Alleghany Cablevision and Skybest Television.

Interested in sponsoring future episodes of the Jubilee? Contact Agnes at the Jubilee or Claire at: info@imagingspecialists.net

The show is a mixture of music and what Ernest and Agnes call “Hillbilly Humor” and features local talent including:Hillbilly Wes, as emcee and Agnes Joines & Jeff Halsey, hosts.

DVDs will be available at the Jubilee or the Sparta Store on Main Street in Sparta or online at www.spartastore.com
DVDs will be available at the Jubilee or the Sparta Store on Main Street in Sparta or online at www.spartastore.com

The Rise & Shine Band
Billy Dancy, banjo
Charlie Edwards, guitar
Ernest Joines, mandolin
Charlie Kinzer, lead guitar
Wade Petty, fiddle
Kermit Pruitt, bass
Buster Royal, guest banjo

Special guests
Joe Irwin
Kermit Pruitt
Gary Joines

The Jubilee Line Dancers
Eve Blevins
Mary Jane Ciraco
Eula Raye Cook
Helen Crouse
Chloe Dollinger
Linda Edwards
Gloria Graham
Jerrie Howell
Jackie Maines
Grace Paisley
Joyce Pruitt
Sherry Smith
Carolyn Young

2010 Possum Queen Phoebe Brown & past honoree, Mary Pennington

The Possum Creek Boys
David Joines
Ernest Joines
Gary Joines
Ryan Lane

The show was sponsored by
Alleghany Jubilee
Imaging Specialists
Thirty-One
Harold T. Long

You can purchase the DVD of Episode 1 at The Sparta Store.