The weekend dawned bright and clear with a temperature in the low seventies for the fall festival. Jason closed his office on Friday and Saturday so his staff could help work and enjoy what was offered. He was thankful it wasn’t cold or rainy.
People from all over the county came on Friday because they all knew the children would be swarming in on Saturday. No one minded paying the small fees for various events or food because they knew the money was going for a good cause. Vendors would keep a certain percentage from their booths and the city would get a percentage to be deposited in the benevolent fund for the indigent.
Jason had never served on a committee for such a project. He had been willing to give it his best, but he was overwhelmed when he discovered he, not only was made the chairman, but others on the committee stepped back and let him take over. He begged for their input and some did help.
Jason vetoed carnival rides. “They’ll take up too much space and they might be dangerous. We have the swings, see saws, slides and merry-go-round already in the park.
He was, as the old saying is, tickled pink when he got favorable replies from food vendors. There would be a fish and chips rolled in newspapers. The women’s sewing club had agreed to take charge of the chicken barbeque booth and also serve a choice of potato salad, macaroni salad or corn on the cob. The men’s Saturday Prayer Group took charge of the dogs, burgers and fries. The high school glee club had the booth with all kinds of beverages, both hot and cold. Jason’s favorite, funnel cakes, made him prance around like a kid. The volunteer firemen took charge of the booth that had kettle corn and caramel apples. The last food booth was cotton candy. The police patrolled the grounds as long as the festival was open.
The local garden club had the face painting and volunteer members from The Perfect Spouse took charge of the cake walk. Nigel took charge of the three legged races. One for men, one for women, one for boys and one for girls.
The crowd cheered with glee when the five - eight Mayor Watkins paired with his six-two grandson to enter the three-legged race. There was even greater cheering when they won the race simply because they were the only ones who hadn’t fallen down.
The Merryweathers loaned twelve ponies, six at a time to work for a short period of time. They didn’t want them worn out or maybe hurt. Families brought their own cameras, but Gary had a sign that he would take professional pictures. He had western hats and fake belts with toy pistols.
Children begged to have their pictures made dressed like “real cowboys”.
Steve had contacted some nearby Kickapoo Indians who operated a sand painting booth. A person could buy a small jar or a fish bowl. There were containers of all sizes. The native Americans would show them how to make their own sand painting.
Ohio was an Iroquoian word, ohiyo, meaning “it is beautiful”.
A farmer had donated about one hundred pumpkins. A person would purchase a pumpkin and was furnished knives and scoops. They would carve a jack-o-lantern. Around three o’ clock, three judges would select six pumpkins for prizes. Grace was thrilled when Franklin was awarded one of the prizes.
People from all over the county had donated cakes, some from the bakery and some baked at home. Six TV trays were set up inside a circle with a cake on each one. A person would pay twenty-five cents to march to music around the circle. When the music stopped, the person got to claim the cake beside them. If they had taken a step past the tray, they had to keep walking. The person either beside the tray or would have to take a step to be beside the tray got the cake.
The Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4 -H and Future Farmers of America had volunteered to keep the grounds clean. They had set up big barrels at various places. A couple of the girls made cute signs for the barrels about placing trash in there and keeping their park clean. “Keep your park clean and park your trash here”. They were given money for their clubs.
Notice had been sent out for weeks in the newspapers, over the radio and on television about the fall festival in the Village of Fayette. The newspapers took lots of pictures and wrote great articles about the festival.
As the day progressed, Siobhan had to laugh. Every time she came near Jason, she reached up to wipe the powdered sugar from his face and off the front of his shirt. This gave him away that he had sneaked another funnel cake. “It’s only for once a year,” he kept excusing himself.
The park was open at eight on Friday and Saturday morning and closed both days at eight in the evening. Sunday they opened at two and closed at six.
On Saturday the Princess of Fulton County and her court had been introduced and they rode on a float in a parade down Main Street. Children marched with their pets. Different business had entered a float. The high school band played several patriotic songs as they led the parade behind Mayor Watkins in a convertible and the Chief of Police in an official car.
Jason was glad he had vetoed the dunking booth. It probably would have been too cool to get wet. He patrolled the grounds Sunday evening to make sure the park was left clean.
Monday morning he bounced into work amusing his staff. “As hard as you worked, I’m surprised to even see you here,” Grace teased him.
“I could never have done it alone. Too many people worked just as hard if not harder. Boy, am I glad that’s over and kick me from one end of the county to the other if I EVER get involved in anything like that again.