Marigold Festival

This last weekend, the four of us took in Pekin's Marigold festival, complete with parade participation and deep fried foods! YUM! The festivities began on Friday night, when we walked downtown (about eight blocks away) and snatched our favorite festival food - funnel cakes! (Unfortunely, I forgot the camera so no pictures to share of Drew's first funnel experience. But trust me, he loved it!) Then on Saturday morning, our church walked in the parade, handing out popsicles and water. It was a beautiful day, and a lovely walk as I pushed the boys in the stroller.

If there was a judges category for "Cutest Parade Participant" I'm pretty sure these guys would've won.

The past two years, we've headed down to the park after the parade, where the bulk of the festival takes place. Food, music, games, and a traveling zoo make it the place to be on a Saturday afternoon. This year, however, Brad (the genius that he is) suggested we wait to go until Sunday afternoon. And was he wise with that idea! Apparently, the park was jam-packed with people on Saturday, and on Sunday, we barely had to wait in line five minutes to get our tenderloin sandwiches and hot dogs! Note to self: second day festivities are just as good as the first day, with 1/4 the crowd! It was another lovely day, but we didn't stay too long at the park. Everything costs money, and until the boys are a bit older to appreciate it, I'd rather not spend $4 for them to have a 30 second pony ride!

A view of Mineral Springs Park. If you look closely, you can see several white tents lining the grassy edges of the lagoon. This is what they call "Art in the Park." Arts and crafts dealers set up shop for the weekend, and apparently make pretty good sales. With over 100 tents, almost everyone we saw had some kind of purchase in their hands.

Fair food!

Obviously enjoying his lunch.

"Drew gets a hot dog, and I get a hunk of plastic?!"

Eh, he seems okay with it!

This is a "Kids Experience" area in the park set up with space discovery activities for children to try. This one let Drew launch his own rocket.

Another activity requiring an entrance fee: the traveling zoo. We admired from the outskirts. Drew's looking at a goat (my frame wasn't big enough to actually capture the goat...he was a pretty big goat.)

Supporting the Boy Scouts of America with a Brownie on a Stick!