If what we saw during Sportsman’s Holiday is any indication, Sweet Home is really ready to get past the coronavirus pandemic.
It was great to see the turnout and enthusiasm at the various events we’ve reported on in this edition.
OK, we have limited space here to wax loquacious about each individual event, but the fact is, they were fun, starting with the Coronation on Thursday evening.
Organizers smartly held that program in the outdoor amphitheater at Community Chapel, which was a classy setting for the event.
Next up, the Cut the Gut cruise was clearly immensely enjoyable for many, judging by the volume of traffic – and noise – generated Friday night.
Then there was Chips ’n’ Splinters, featuring some talented local performers delivered for an appreciative crowd.
Saturday’s parade was kind of the epitome of this year’s festival. It originally looked to be significantly smaller than usual, we were told by an organizer, but by the time the wheels started rolling on Saturday morning, it had swelled to something remarkably close to normal. And the enthusiasm of the crowd certainly was.
Certainly, things were a little different in some aspects. The challenges of a straight-line, dead-end parade route are understandable, but frankly, having numerous spectators lining both sides of the streets definitely had advantages. That parade was just plain fun.
Follow that up with the vendors fair, the church and museum rummage sales, the Loggers Olympics, fireworks, etc., etc.
This week we’ve got the County Fair, which is already surpassing expectations for the nighttime concert ticket sales, and after that we have the Big One, the Jamboree.
It’s refreshing to see organizers move forward with these events, even when things were touch-and- go on whether the governor would relax the rules.
This is healthy for us and we appreciate the efforts that have gone into making them happen.