Marion Chingawassa Days

Yesterday Tami and I participated in the Marion, Kansas Chingawassa Days. We set up a booth in the city park....absolutely BEAUTIFUL city park!!! We left Hutchinson at 6 am....and were set up and ready to sell jewelry by 8 or 8:30. Slow start...a few sales, but not terrific. It started getting pretty warm. I had my pop-up tent with us, but we'd decided we were in such a shaded area we really didn't need it. We probably should have set it up!

Sales were ok...just ok! About 4pm Tami mentioned the clouds forming to the northwest. I didn't think those would come over us. At 4:30 they announced there was heavy rain and large hail in Hillsboro, 10 miles west of Marion. We loaded...FAST!!! There was a lot of cloud to ground lightning and light sprinkles and dark, dark clouds. Instead of going north a couple of miles and then west back towards McPherson, we went east to Highway 50 and south to Florence, Peabody, and into Newton. We got drenched a few times, but no hail. About Newton it all cleared up.

Here's what hurts: Originally we planned for 9am to 4pm. Then we learned that the REAL crowd doesn't show up til right before the concerts. They had two well-known bands prior to Diamond Rio playing at 9:15pm. We were about 50 yards from the stage and could have seen, heard it all! We changed our plans and decided to stay til near dark and by then most people would be at the concert. We could "load up" and then go back and enjoy the Diamond Rio concert. Then the storm moved in. Well...we left....and later Tami had a phone call and we learned it had rained hard for about 30 minutes, cleared off, and the sidewalks were "crammed with thousands of people"...."just milling around and buying stuff...waiting for the Diamond Rio concert"....ouch, ouch, ouch!!!!! Those were supposed to be OUR customers, I'm sure!

All in all...it was still a good day. We had fun...made a few sales...learned a LOT... We've decided we want to do it again next year, but we'll do it completely different! Go later..stay later..set up the pop-up, etc.

But...regardless of what WE did....that is an absolutely awesome event. It is truly a family event. They had it ALL!!! They had sumo-wrestling (big puffy suits and helmets were donned..very fun), minute-to-win-it games, heads/tails games, bed races, dinky duck races, lazer tag, Texas hold-em poker games, bingo, mariachi bands, and drum corps, and bagpipers....and MORE...lots more. Lots of booths with games for winning prizes! And all kinds of food vendors! It's a really neat event! And it's all in one of the most beautiful parks I think I've ever seen! (Wish Hutchinson would do stuff like this!!!! I know, we have Third Thursday, and it's great...but that doesn't compare for a community/family event geared intentionally toward FUN!)

Tami and I will be there again next year...hope you will be too!! It's a great event!

P.S. This is a little non-family comment.....early Saturday morning we were busy setting up and I had my back turned to the woman who loudly made this comment: "Take your top off first before you spread your legs too far!" Without turning around, I looked up at Tami and she was staring at me, trying to kill a smile, and shaking her head "NO" very discreetly. I just slowly walked toward Tami and said quietly, "Do I dare turn around and look?" We were both cracking up....they were merely setting up a pop-up tent!!!!! Well...what did YOU think!?!?!