Videos: Montgomery Fest in 10 Parts

So that was my first Montgomery Fest. And I had a great time.

Bad news first: I didn’t make my goal of shooting, editing and posting 10 videos in 10 hours. But if not for the hailstorm that interrupted the festival Saturday afternoon, I feel like I would have. In the end, I did get 10 videos out of it, and you can see them all by clicking the boxes to your right.

And next year, I’m going to do it again—this time, I hope, without unfortunate divine intervention.

But this fest was not about me and my crazy stunt. It was about the multitude of people it takes to pull off something of this size and magnitude. Montgomery Fest was much bigger, and had much more diversity of entertainment, than I initially expected.

And aside from the hailstorm, everything went smoothly. Heck, organizers even started the fest back up after the skies cleared Saturday night, and local band Steve Sharp and Wake the Sheep played their set to a small, but appreciative crowd. Sunday went off without a hitch, from the parade to the Smokin’ Gunz concert to the dazzling fireworks that finished off the weekend.

Here are some things I’d never seen before Montgomery Fest: a diaper dash, in which toddlers race each other across foam mats (if they want to, which they often didn’t); fire department water fights, in which teams use fire hoses to move a bucket from one goal line to the other; and cheesecake dipped in chocolate on a stick, a creation of Chris and Gary’s Strawberry Patch, and the world’s most perfect food.

All that plus a performance by the Jesse White Tumblers, a robotics competition, a classic car show, and a bevy of local craftspeople showing off what they can do. (Special thanks to several of those local artisans from Shell Bell Hair Bows and Ernie Toons Caricatures, for helping me set up the Patch booth and keeping me company.)

Best of all, though, was the sheer sense of community I got just walking around downtown. Montgomery Fest is the kind of thing that makes people proud of the village they live in. Heck, I’ve only lived here a couple of weeks, and I’m proud of it. It was a great time, and a great chance for people to come together and celebrate this place we call home.

I’m already looking forward to next year. In the meantime, go watch the videos, and relive this year again.