With summer soon coming to an end, attending The Athens' Cornfest was a great way to celebrate and welcome the approaching autumn. A parade, a steam engine to cook the corn and a ton of local vendors, it was the perfect Saturday morning. Don't worry though, we aren't ready to put away our flip flops just yet!
My three year old was up at 7:00 a.m. and had already picked out her best "Cornfest"outfit. I am not sure she understood where we were going, but she sure was excited! Explaining there would be a lot of outdoor fun, we compromised on a pink ensemble, stowing the tutu for a later date. Once we woke daddy and all got ready, it was off to catch the parade.
Admittedly, it's been awhile since I have been to Athens. Although not far, there is usually not a reason for me to visit this town. Upon arrival, I quickly realized this was a place I'd have to come back to more often. The town has a charm about it, with beautiful hanging baskets lining the thoroughfare and well-kept shops. We could not find a place to park on the main street, so we turned up a side street and thankfully found a spot. Once the strollers were loaded up, we were ready to have some fun!
The first place we stopped was the raffle table for the Elizabethtown-Kitley Firefighters. They had an adorable "firehouse" for kids as the prize. The guys were very friendly, agreeing to smile for my picture and talk to the kids. Who doesn't love a man in uniform? Next up we spotted the always popular "Bouncy Castle". Quickly, my daughter was in line to have her turn. We started to get hungry and headed towards the steam engine that was cooking the local corn. It was delicious, easily the best corn I have had all summer.
We continued on to the paintball gun shooting range, Little Ray's Reptiles, checked out the vendors and finally ended up at the pony rides. This was the creme de la creme for my girls. Even my 4 month old was wide-eyed upon seeing the petting zoo and her big sister atop a pony.Everywhere I looked, there were happy families. With our youngest, people stop all the time to adore her cooing and her smiles, today was no exception. There were so many adorable babies and smiles everywhere- we were in good company.
We left a few hours later, exhausted by all the fun and a bit surprised by what this festival had to offer. Who knew this small-town Cornfest could hold their own with the best of the bigger festivals? A huge congratulations to the Cornfest Chair, Hendrick Pape and his hard working team. Our family had a great day and we hope to attend for many years to come!
