Germantown Pretzel Festival - 2012

  Last evening I wasn't so sure that the weather was going to cooperate for the opening of this year's Germantown Pretzel Festival. By late evening, thunderstorms gathered across Indiana and began drifting towards the Miami Valley. At 9:15 pm (I was already in bed), the storms arrived here at Pinehaven with a deafening downpour and hail which threatened to break the window.
 But when morning broke, only low gray clouds remained. By the time the festival opened (9 am) the sky was breaking and by 10 am it had wholly cleared. With temperatures in the low 60's, it couldn't have been more perfect weather.

The festival runs 9 am - 9 pm today (Saturday, 09/22/12) and noon to 6 pm tomorrow (Sunday, 09/23/12). For full details, check out the Germantown Pretzel Festival website.

 Already at 10 am, the narrow aisles of Veteran's Memorial Park were busy with festival-goers. Even last night's heavy rain (well over an inch) didn't leave many puddles.

 We always make sure we see either Ann (pictured) or Jack Warner, co-owners of Schenck Furniture. Jack and I worked together for many years. There are just not better people to buy furniture from.

 This is Mom's favorite booth. A church sells fresh-baked bread and Mom usually buys at least two loaves ($4 each this year). Though she doesn't care for "quick breads", she loves those made the old fashioned way with yeast. She bought a loaf of sourdough and another of barley. She'd have bought every yeast loaf they had if she'd have had the money.

 Food is what people come from and that's where the greatest crowds gather the earliest.

 There are pretzels, of course, but every imaginable festival-type food, too. It's just breakfast time and people are eating their lunches.

 Crafts, too, fill the aisles with assorted homespun goodies.

 This booth sells Valley View Spartan wear, the logo of the local school district.

 Booths come in handy to shade vendors from the sun and rain but today was sunny, cool and calm. In a word: perfect.

 These men were assembling bongo drums behind a booth. Jamaican?

 We have a soft spot in our hearts for Miss Molly's Bakery & Cafe, based in Farmersville. They always offers pretzel rolls at the festival. They were voted "Best Mom and Pop Restaurant" by ActiveDayton in 2009. Every year they're top finishers in the contest.

 Two of our Miss Molly's favorites are Rae (l) and Helen (r). The smiles you see are typical of these two.

 Here's the way to enjoy the Pretzel Festival, bundled up against the cool morning air and seated in a stroller.

 Mom is having a tough time getting around this year and walks with a cane. The narrow sidewalks of Veteran's Memorial Park present a bit of a challenge to her even though the park is certainly handicap accessible. It's sometimes difficult to pass crowds. I step off to the side and make sure Mom stays on the pavement.
 On our way back to the car (surely we parked half a mile away), I took a few pictures of beautiful downtown Germantown. The village, established in 1804, had their bicentennial eight years ago. Nowadays, it has a population of over 5500 (2010 census).

 This shot (above) is taken from the intersection of Plum Street and Center Street looking east.

 Another, taken on Center Street (just east of Plum) and looking east.

 Finally, as we near our car, this shot is from Center Street looking south on Main Street.
 While we don't have any pretzels to show for our trip, we have plenty of bread and got some nice exercise in the meantime.