Blueberry Festival

We went to the annual Blueberry Festival in Wilton this week-end. This was Stomper's first parade. Sadly there is a no siren policy during the parade and we missed the marching bands so he did not get to experience the "true" sounds of a parade. 

We walked around downtown to visit the vendors and meet some local artists. We did end up buying me a new knitting bag (a post to follow about that later) which I am in love with. We sampled some maple butter, bought some maple taffy, and got our customary cup of Blueberry Coffee (despite the extreme heat of the day). 

You are probably wondering why there are no pictures of blueberries. Despite it being a blueberry festival I have never participated in any of the blueberry activities, mostly pies and pancakes because they happen either too late or too early in the day. After our walk around town we walked back to my Mom's for some lunch and a nap before the fireworks.

 

Early in the afternoon Jason drove the truck down to where the fireworks are with the chairs loaded up into the truck bed. That way when we walked down in the early evening we could lug just our supper the half mile to the lake instead of everything we would need like we have done in past years.

We packed our supper in a crock-pot keeper and it stayed piping hot! The peas were out of our garden and looked a little dried out from sitting in the fridge uncovered. Jason thought I should toss them, but I believed they could be saved. I boiled them for four minutes, shut the water off, let them sit while the chicken and potatoes finished cooking on the grill, then packed them in a glass container to keep warm, when we got to the lake they were perfect!

Both Stomper and Jason agree that the peas were delicious!

While we were finishing up our supper I spied a family from our church. I called out to them and they joined us on the patch of grass we had carved out for ourselves. Before long our small group of three swelled to eighteen friends and family. It was great to have an impromptu get-together. The summer business had kept us from sitting and chatting and it was nice to catch up with them.

 I love fireworks. They are my favorite part of the festival. In past years we have sat so close to them that ashes fall down on us. I have in a keepsake box several chunks of cardboard that either fell on me or near me. A few years ago a part firework went sideways into the crowd (no one was seriously injured) and so the platform was moved onto a barge in the lake.

I was not disappointed in the fireworks display (I never have been). They last 20-30mins with no lulls, stops, or moments of "is this it?". However, after the finale, they did have a few "leftover" that they set off while people were heading back to their cars. This was the first year on the barge and I wonder if some got a little "lost" in the unfamiliar setting.

As usual I am looking forward to next year. Maybe next year you'll come too!