SPOONBREAD FESTIVAL

Memorial Park - Berea

Where can you find a luau, great food, live bands, contests, bakeoffs, arts and crafts, and spoonbread? Only the second weekend of September, in Berea Kentucky can hold this much fun.

The SpoonBread festival kicked off on a Friday when dozens of booths were set up in Memorial Park. Various performances took place, including Berea Community's Dance team and cheerleading squads. Concerts and the SpoonBread Luau entertained visitors for the rest of the evening. At dusk the hot-air balloons took over the show and lit up the sky.

On Saturday morning breakfasts were served at numerous places around town, including the field in front of Berea Community School, where the hot-air balloon rides were scheduled to take place. Unfortunately, the wind became too much for the large balloons and passenger safety was in question. The balloon rides ended before schedule, yet the Berea Community High School band played on while refreshments continued to be served.

The parade started at eleven and featured pageant contestants, fire trucks, vehicles entered in the car show, and numerous others. After the parade, visitors were able to visit booths in Memorial park and try some spoonbread. The spoon bread eating contest took place at one, along with the "Make a Joyful Noise" concert. Activities, such as concerts, carnival rides and the Pageants, continued for the rest of the afternoon.

Sunday started off with a quilt show, car show and carnival rides. SpoonBread samples were available at the Boone Tavern square and concerts carried on throughout the afternoon.

This year's festival lacked some of the spark of previous years, but the weather was great and there seemed to be a larger crowd than ever before. Plans are already in the making for next year's festival and we look forward to its return.

written by Hannah Billings