Fall Fest Badgered by Cold Weather
Author: Nancy Marks, MT43 News Reporter
Fall Fest Badgered by Cold Weather
Nancy Marks
MT43 News Reporter
Townsend Rotary President Doug Sitton made the best of cold, then warm, then cold weather at Fall Fest. As Emcee, he shared his robust energy and enthusiasm with the crowd throughout as he announced the various bands, thanked event sponsors and kept the dancers dancing.
The weatherman predicted rain and wind. Sure enough, tents fluttered and people embraced the wind with jackets, then winter coats on Sunday when the temperature by midmorning was 45 degrees.
Saturday was a different story: hundreds of couples, baby strollers, wheelchairs and even a side-by-side roamed through the 130 vendors under warm and sunny skies. Vendor coordinator Laura Obert said she was able to fill all the empty booths with the waitlisted vendors, since some business owners canceled at the last minute. And buy shoppers did. One lady was seen with a garden wagon filled over capacity with packages and bags.
This reporter worked a shift cooking brats with volunteer Kris Sullivan. We put in two hours of turning hundreds of brats, then testing for doneness and moving them to roasters. Over propane-fired open grills, the brats sizzled. They burned occasionally if we didn’t watch closely. Grill bosses Krissy Luddicks and Mary Heinamann kept a close eye to make sure finished brats reached the right doneness.
During past fall fest events, parking has been a big issue among Townsend residents and business owners. After working with City Council and various owners in advance, parking went well this year. Parking coordinator Pat Plantenberg said they began parking at 7:00 a.m. Saturday. Friday he helped vendors reach their designated booth areas. He said parking was much easier this year compared to last year. Cars were parked from the Copy Cup to the Post Office on both sides of Highway 287-Front Street. In town, cars were parked 4 blocks deep on city streets.
One last issue to deal with, according to Rotarian Obert, is how to convince people not to bring their dogs to the event. “Over the years, we have seen dog fights, dogs urinating on the vendors’ products and dogs tripping other people. We have worked with both the Sheriff’s office and City Council about getting their help, but in the end, it is our problem since we rent the park. We put up signs asking people not to bring their dogs, except in the case of service dogs for handicapped owners, but to no avail. We have not found a solution yet,” she said.
Article Images
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PhotoCredit: Nancy Marks, MT43 News Photographer
Image 1 Caption: A Missoula vendor displays fresh vegetables and homemade pies.
Nancy Marks, MT43 News Photographer
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Image 2 Caption: Brat sellers and Rotarians Jeff Langlinais, Elaine Roy and a volunteer call out order numbers at the Brat stand.
Nancy Marks, MT43 News Photographer
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Image 3 Caption: Tacy Swanton and Anna Glueckert ply their trade at the brew stand.
Nancy Marks, MT43 News Photographer
Image 4 Caption: Fireman's Breakfast is always a Fall Fest hit
Nancy Marks, MT43 News Photographer
Image 5 Caption: Cars, trucks and Campers lined Spruce Street Saturday.
Nancy Marks, MT43 News Photographer
