small town celebration

yesterday was a day of celebration. the whole 3 day weekend was actually. i was wishing for another day off today to recover. no such luck.

we live in a small town. population at just over 5,000. on july 4, our population more than doubles due to the very large celebration that our town hosts each year. more than 10,000 come from miles around to watch the fireworks display. it's amazing! our pyro crew rocks!

before the fireworks begin, we also have a parade. everything from military, local government officials, community band, floats, horses and of course, the old cars. lawman and i were in an old car this year. not just any old car, but my dad's 1929 model a roadster. he was a collector, my dad. he had 4 antique vehicles; one for each of us kids. this one is mine.

dad loved parades. he was in his local rodeo parade for years. this car carried the grand marshal and dad was the chauffer. the year that dad was the grand marshal, i got to be the chauffer. since dad isn't with us any longer, lawman and i thought it would be fitting if we drive the car in our local parade as a tribute to dad. lawman has taken quite an affection to this old girl. he and a local have worked on her over the past 2-3 months to make sure she was ready to go this year. fortunately, she was and she ran like a charm.

dad, i saw you smiling down on us yesterday. 

tulip festival

We live in a small community, population about the 5,000 mark. It's quiet with the exception of 2 weeks out of the year -- 3rd weekend of April and July 4.

Our Parks Department plants thousands of tulips every year. Yes, thousands. I heard the actual number of bulbs once before and could not believe it. I wish I could remember. Anyway, because we have so many tulips, we host what has become known as the Tulip Festival.

 

 Craft and food vendors pour into the community to set up shop for the weekend. This year was a banner year for them ~ the weather cooperated. It was sunny and warm. Lots of folks took advantage of it and spent the day in the park.  About 40,000 they estimate.

 

 Lawman and I ventured down in the afternoon for a while. For us, it's more about checking out the crowd.  We did walk through a few of the tent areas and saw some wares from some really talented folks. The only item that has made me regret not purchasing anything was a bag made out of plabric ~ layering of old plastic bags. I thought they were darling but really, I need another bag like I need a whole in the head. (The picture below doesn't do the item justice but the vendor was giving me the stink eye. She probably thought I was going to steal her idea or something. So, I took it quickly and scooted out of there.)

 

These boys caught my attention too. Aren't they cute? All lined up like toy soldiers. Goodness straight from the hive.

We also had to take a stroll through the food area. Oh the heavenly aroma. You could get darn near anything your heart...er, stomach...desired ~ ~ turkey legs, corn on the cob, funnel cake, bbq, chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick, or limeades to name a few.

I love fresh limeades so when I saw this stand for cherry limeades, I knew what I was spending my money on. Lawman went with the cherry lemonade and a very large grilled Italian sausage with peppers and onions. A good ending to a little afternoon outing.

If you ever find yourself in our area on the 3rd weekend of April, be sure to plan accordingly. You'll be glad you did. And, pleasantly surprised at the offerings of our little town.

Our Spring Festival

Each spring our town hosts an annual festival in our city park. We went to the park late Saturday morning to check out the offerings this year. Here's just a small portion of what we found.

Lots of vendors...

Inflatables for the kiddos...

Henna Body Art...

Our old Dutch Mill where they still grind flour.

One of my personal favorites. Windchimes made from old silver pieces.

Another favorite...funnel cake and ice cold water. Mmm.