By From staff reports
newsroom@dailystandard.com Celina Lake Festival weekend was a "huge success with the largest crowds ever," festival co-chairman Joe Wolfe reported this morning.
"I'm real happy with the way the entire festival went and have had nothing but positive comments from people. Crowds were up everywhere and we had around 30,000 people watching Friday night's fireworks," he said.
Saturday night's parade was preceded by a parade of its own, Wolfe said, when the U.S. Army tank arrived and made its way downtown where it was on display before participating in the evening parade.
The only event that showed a decline in participation was Saturday's boat poker run, he said.
According to new poker run rules this year, participants were not allowed to bring on board mechanical water pumps and the boat operators were required to wear wristbands and flags identifying the participating boats. "There's been trouble in the past with water balloons, water guns, etc., and some people even had their boats damaged from it in the past. We want to make this a safe, family event," Wolfe said.
Along Main Street and Lake Shore Drive, festival goers could find just about anything imaginable to buy from the assortment of vendors.
The wares and services along Lake Shore Drive included everything from temporary tattoos, face painting and hair braiding to crafts, scented candles and tarot card reading.
The sound of chirping frogs could be heard coming from one table. People were using sticks to stroke the bumpy backs of hollowed-out, carved wooden Chamjuri frogs to produce the chirping sounds. The frogs came in brown, rainbow, green and red, white and blue colors.
"Mom," shouted 7-year-old Megan Hiler of Celina as she eyed the frogs. "They all make different sounds."
Michael Sanders, of One World Concepts out of Illinois, was working the frog booth on Saturday afternoon. He said this was the first time his company had come to the festival.
"It's a percussion instrument and they're hollow inside," Sanders said. "They're a great gift for kids."
Further down vendors' row in a tent with signs for sale was a wooden sign shaped like a squatting canine that warned dog walkers to curb their pooches. Another sign with the same motif read, "Here he lies all cold and hard, the last darn dog that pooped in my yard."
Whimsical, poured cement faces of the sun, moon and other characters greeted visitors at another booth manned by Jay Risner from St. Paris. He also had four herons mounted on steel rebar legs that looked as if they could take flight at any second.
"That's Bachus the god of wine," Risner said of a round-faced laughing character with a beard, mustache and bunches of grapes around his head. This is the third year Risner has come to the festival to sell his original, sculpted designs.
"This isn't such a great selling show, but it's so pretty out here," Risner said Saturday afternoon. "The first year I was up town and it was terrible. It was so hot."
After perfect weather on Friday and Saturday, festival goers zipped up their jackets Sunday for a day of chilly rain.
All Sunday's scheduled water events were canceled due to weather, some for the second year in a row, according to a festival staff member parked along the lake in a golf cart Sunday afternoon. Last year's problem was wind, he explained.
Savannah, one of Indiana's finest bands, according to the same staff member, entertained an audience of about 50 under the tent on Lake Shore Drive. One woman, clad in tank top and shorts, announced to her group that she loved the band, but she was going home to get warm.
Austin Howe, 6, of St. Marys, was getting warm in the kiddie tractor pull as he worked hard to get the job done.
Son of Rikki Howe, Austin already has two trophies from tractor pulls when he competed in the 3- and 4-year-olds categories. In fact, the youngster placed 13th in state competition last year.
The cool temperatures and light rain did not deter 64 young anglers from turning out Sunday morning for the festival's annual children's fishing derby.
Kids age 3-12 gathered near North Shore Park and -- some using Scooby Doo and Spiderman fishing poles -- pulled a lot of fish from the lake. They caught catfish, crappie, bluegill and other fish, mostly along the rocks. Festival volunteers rushed around measuring the children's catches.
Prizes were awarded for longest fish (14 inches) and the smallest fish (1.5 inches). A couple of young fishermen also were recognized for hauling in more than a dozen fish during the hourlong tournament.
Overall, the festival was deemed a success by many.
Carolyn and Tom Lute of Dayton, who used to own a home on the lake, make a trip to the area every year for the festival.
"We've been coming since 1988 and this is probably the most money we've spent here," Tom Lute said, laughing after shopping at the stands on Saturday. "There's just so much more here." |
