Inquisitive Felines and Fibers

Over this past weekend I set up my booth for the first warm weather festival in a very long time. This festival has been active for over 80 years in our town and while  it celebrates the abundant local Mountain Laurel it is also an opportunity for young ladies to be celebrated for their grades, community spirit, and to win scholarship money. Until this year the Laurel Festival was a 3 day event with a ball and a parade before the naming of the new Laurel Queen, but financial constraints caused a change in the program and I think it might just be a change for the better, well, at least the Sunday portion of the event. This was the day of the parade when the young ladies were driven through town in decorated vehicles, but this year they decorated booths in the park as an alternative and my “green” side likes this idea immensely. An added bonus was that the ladies were readily accessible for conversations and questions which doesn’t happen as they are passing through the parade route.

I must admit that while I was packing up my car in the slightly humid and overcast morning it came back to me one of the reasons why it has been a while since I’ve done one of these shows. It was a funny day weather-wise as it would be calm and humid then dry and breezy, but I was able to set up near a tree so we had plenty of shade to enjoy. I was also lucky enough o have a friend attend this event and set up next to my booth so we also got to chat and knit together through the afternoon. I was still knitting dishcloths, but their simple nature was valued yesterday while I people watched and chatted with friends and strangers alike. Happily  no mistakes were found in the end products from my lack of attention.

I didn’t sell very much,  but I was attending this festival as an investment in the future. It’s local and I’ve always thought that small local events of this sort would be fun. I was not mistaken. It would be very nice if this portion of the festival was to stay this way and I look forward to attending this as an annual event. Is there a favorite fair or festival in your area?