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Chocolate Festival fun in the sun
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WENDY MITCHELL Staff Writer
OLD WASHINGTON -- Anyone with a sweet tooth had no problem finding something to satisfy their needs this weekend at the Chocolate Festival in Old Washington.
Vendors filled sidewalks, yards, side streets and shops with everything from chocolate covered fruits, fudges and candies to nearly 20-inch tall chocolate bunnies. A few booths even had live bunnies for sale as a diminutive costumed Easter Bunny character mingled with children on Main Street. Local businesses and area vendors combined their efforts to make Old Washington a chocoholic heaven for the weekend.
While some came to find supplements for upcoming holiday baskets, others dined on roasted this and deep fried that, with some jail house jambalaya and pan fried egg rolls filling the multicultural menu. The blend of foods filled the air with a jumble of aromas.
With sunshine bringing the morning crispness up to an afternoon 50 degree range Sunday, hundreds of visitors visited shops and booths, while others took a leisurely ride in a carriage from "R" Farms, pulled by a docile draft horse. Not far behind was a miniature horse pulling a miniature wagon with a small child as a passenger. Others swayed on the pirate ship ride.
Children got a treat when the Kentucky National Guard erected a 30 foot climbing wall and allowed anyone 50-250 pounds to give scaling the wall a try, for free.
As one youngster removed the spurs from his cowboy boots and was fitted with a safety harness, 3-year-old Levi Lewis of West Union, Ohio, gave the wall a try.
About 10 feet up he decided he was high enough and repelled downward into his grandfather's waiting arms. The challenge was on.
"Now you do it, Papaw," said Lewis. His grandfathers declined, leaving little Levi the family rock climbing champ for the day.
The sight of an air-filled giant Kentucky National Guard soldier character mingling with the crowd and posing with other soldiers for photographs brought back memories of another time for Florence Krutina, who was making popcorn at Grandma's Kettle Corn.
"I remember when the National Park Service use to have Smoky the Bear come to events. Kids just loved him," said Krutina.
As Sunday progressed, the village's main street was soon filled with a line of horse drawn carriages, military vehicles, cars and wagons. The parade, with a special salute to military personnel, worked its way from near St. Patrick's Cemetery to beyond the Visitor's Center, past line after line of spectators.
Getting around the event was easy for most. For those who parked at the ball park, the festival was a short, free Maysville trolley ride away; others opting to park along U.S. 68 had to walk farther. Some who parked along the narrow side streets of Washington, like Paxton Avenue, made navigation for the trolley an adventure of its own. But the trolley driver took it in stride and missed the randomly parked vehicles by inches.
Just warm enough to enjoy but not too hot to melt chocolate treats, the Washington Chocolate Festival appeared to be a hit with visitors and vendors alike.
Contact Wendy Mitchell at wendy.mitchell@lee.net or call 564-9091, ext. 370. |
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