Garnett Square Fair overcomes challenges
By CLEON RICKEL, Herald Senior Writer
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GARNETT — Neither wind nor rain nor a giant hole in the ground could deter shoppers from their appointed rounds.
Despite some challenges facing the 36th annual Garnett Square Fair — including the threat of thunderstorms and a construction project that involved about half of the courthouse square — the Saturday pre-Mother’s Day event went off better than planned, Helen Norman, a member of the Garnett Business and Professional Women which organizes the event, said.
“A lot of the vendors reported they did even better than last year and last year was nice and sunny,” Norman said. “Maybe it was some last-minute shopping for Mother’s Day.”
Most of the vendors, who generate most of the crowds for the annual event with their crafts and food items, went away happy, she said.
Because of construction on a new law enforcement center east of the courthouse, many vendors had to be switched around into the smaller available space on the courthouse lawn, she said.
“I went around looking for some vendors who were here last year and couldn’t find them and I figured they didn’t make it,” Norman said. “But I found them in some other place.”
Saturday was cloudy, windy and chilly with brief patches of rain. Thunder could be heard occasionally.
There were few people to begin with but as the morning progressed, the sidewalks around the courthouse filled and the festival proved to be well-attended, Norman said.
“I saw a lot of people I didn’t recognize so I think we drew people from outside of town,” she said.
In years past, the organizers have emphasized having entertainment at the Square Fair fairly constantly during the day and that proved to be another popular attraction, she said.
If the weather didn’t hamper the Square Fair, it did put the bite on the first Garnett Airport Day, which had been planned in association with the Square Fair.
The combination of low cloud ceilings and high winds caused the airport activities to be scratched, Susan Wettstein, of the city of Garnett, said.
Garnett Airport Day will be 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Saturday at the Garnett Industrial Airport, she said.
Activities will include $10 airplane rides beginning at 9:30 a.m., concessions, kiddy rides and displays.
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