Wool Fest return is anything but sheepish

By Carolyn Reid
    An estimated 24- to 25,000 guests flocked to the creek bottom at the intersection of State Route 159 and Concord-Caddo Road this weekend as the 2021 Wool Fest kicked into high gear.
    Residents along 159 were posting their views of the lines of traffic, at some points reaching nearly two miles in length on the Falmouth end. Buses that some car drivers met in Falmouth as they were on their way to pick up passengers to shuttle them to the grounds actually made it to the Wool Fest first as they traveled to Butler and then up the other side of 159 or 609.
    While numbers were down just a little from recent years thanks to a stormy Sunday and some Covid concerns, those who came to the Wool Festival this year apparently came to shop.
    “They pretty much wiped me out,” Log Cabin manager Adam Hall said as he reviewed the business from the three days. “Pretty sure I’ll figure up that it was my best weekend ever.”
    Ron Stinson of Nan and Pap’s barely stopped all weekend. “I had to make more. I have slept eight hours since Thursday, and only 10 items came home on my trailer. I could have sold more had I been more prepared.”
    Both Stinson and Dennis Moneyhon from the Wool Fest board confirmed that many vendors reported higher-than-normal sales.
    People came to eat, too. Turkey legs, nachos, and other Wool Fest standards were being nibbled as people roamed the grounds. Those who got less-than-portable items such as chicken and dumplins or bean soup and corn bread filled the food tents to nearly overflowing.
    And bluegrass, country, and gospel filled the grounds.
    One new tent this year was the Pendleton County tent. While some form of first aid has been available for the entire 38-year run, this year county’s emergency responders as a team had a tent where they handed out first aid kits and items for the kids as well as providing help when necessary. Pendleton County Ambulance and Fire Department teamed up with the help of Mike Moore from Emergency Management to make the tent happen.
    Concerns were raised about emergency personnel getting to the location with the traffic as it can get, and Jody Dunhoft, Director of Pendleton County Ambulance, soon laid those concerns to rest. “I have worked for years on Wool Fest weekend. It is challenging to get there, but no different than rush hour traffic or driving up 27.”
    She was also reassuring about the possibility of the need. “The squad was only called out twice (this year). I think that is a perfect reason first aid needs to be there. The location is isolated, for sure.”
    Also new were the parking teams. Pendleton County band parked cars for years at the grounds, but this year, the mantle was passed to other groups. Parking as a driver is one thing. Parking as one who directs parking is quite another. The sympathy for those who spend hours parking cars is felt among the masses who attend. Jenna O’Hara, PCHS Girls’ Basketball Coach, was part of parking on Saturday. “The search and rescue squad has a great system down,” she said. The logistics of the parking situation paired with the numerous personalities these people encounter make the fundraising event challenging, at best, but the group made the best of it. Some spent hours standing  in the same spots, parking and smiling along the way.
    As residents of the county, many take the Wool Fest for granted. We expect the sea of cars and people; however, every year, new people come to check it out—or sometimes they accidentally get caught up in the traffic that leads to Pendleton County’s biggest weekend event. A group of motorcyclists from Indiana reminded anyone who was watching them as they drove up to the site around noon on Saturday just how much of a wonder our annual festival is. One rider’s eyes were so wide that an observer could see her staring at the fleet of cars through her sunglasses. She sat in line, shaking her head in disbelief. Her partner yelled, “YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS!!”
    Yes. We are serious.     
    Welcome to Pendleton County.