Quietness

After 6 months of planning and meetings, another Oktoberfest is in the books and I have nothing hanging over my head. By every measure the event was a success. The huge storms of the morning and early afternoon cleared and by 3:00 PM when the festivities began. The sun was shining and the temperatures (and humidity) were hovering around 85 degrees. The older folks loved the polka band, the food was fabulous, Boogie Wonderland was a hoot. Lots of money was raised in raffle ticket sales, auctions, food sales, beer garden, beer garden, & beer garden.

As for our part, up in the Kid's Carnival tent, where it was shaded and quite cool and comfortable, it was our best year yet. There's just something about the kids coming in to play silly games like "Potty Toss" (yep, its just like it sounds) or "Cow Pie Fly" (yep). The ultimate goal of the carnival is to keep the kids happy so the grown-ups will spend more money at the silent auction and beer garden. So, just in our little tent, in 5 hours, we raised $6500.

I attribute our success to the hard work of the wonderful volunteer staff - who showed up just in time to mix up the candy and trinkets to be given out as prizes for the games . . .

. . . because in this carnival, the games all cost one ticket ($1) but every body's a winner!