By Stephen Smoot
“I can’t imagine how much work goes into this. The people who put this together do a heck of a job,” raved Roger Dahmer, Pendleton County commissioner.
The festival opened Friday night under brilliant sunny skies and perfect spring temperatures. At 4 p.m. the community building opened its doors for the trout dinner at the same time as vendors started selling their wares and those registering for the trout rodeo could sign up. The Friends of the Library had started their Trout Fest book sale fundraiser at 2.
By 6 p.m., Jack and Davis Reid took the stage while the top ranked Pendleton County softball team preyed on some Cougars visiting from Baker.
Trout Fest organizers have always looked to expand family-friendly entertainment and other options while keeping the fishing squarely at the center of the event. Focusing on bringing in a variety of musical acts, vendors, and other attractions remains a constant focus for the team organizing the fun.
Another benefit, as Dahmer reminds, is in being “a way to bring people and their money into the county and it’s always successful.”
For the main event on Saturday morning, the weather forecast (as per usual) contained some threats of rain. The sun, however, broke through the clouds early and provided pleasant conditions whether one fished, shopped, and/or ate one’s way through the day.
Early on, stream marshals reported that one of the hottest fish-catching spots lay in the children’s area along the spillway. Pre-teen Trout Queen, Addie Miller, was one of many happy and eager young fishers to pull their prey from the water.
Although none of the kids had caught a tagged fish for a prize in the first few hours, the children only seemed to care that the fish kept biting.
In the vendors area, experienced sellers like Roxanne Arbaugh worked with Trout Fest vendor rookies to help them get their own businesses established. Arbaugh’s Bettys Backroad Bakery in Circleville sells a wide variety of sourdough baked goods from flavored bread loaves to banana bread and even tortillas.
Coming to Trout Fest and other such events held in Franklin and around the county “is absolutely the top priority. People want to put a face to the name,” Arbaugh shared.
She explained that when she received a diagnosis of diabetes, she started working with sourdough. Sourdough, particularly when used with whole wheat flour, does not spike blood sugar levels to the same extent as typical commercial white bread.
Next to Arbaugh’s stand, Beth Kirk of Sweet Cakes also sold delicious baked goods. While at first glance, they might appear as competitors, Arbaugh was showing the first time vendor the ropes of attracting customers and selling more.
Like Arbaugh, Kirk was inspired to form her business by health issues suffered by many. She described having “a great community of supporters” after just starting her own operation in October.
Both bakers plan to be regulars at the opening of the Pendleton County Farmers Market in June.
Nearby, another stand represented a different type of craft. Melinda Walker from the Sew and Sews Quilt Guild was holding a fundraiser drawing for a large hand crafted quilt. Money raised will “help further educate our quilting endeavors,” Walker said.
The guild will use the money “to have teachers come in from the outside area to us.” Walker added that this will help some of the younger artists who have recently joined. She said that they bring more modern styles and that “it’s nice to see them get involved.”
Alongside the live music, performers from Raymond’s Gymnastics wowed a huge audience of parents, friends, and supporters with a live show. Performers ranged from pre-kindergarten to high school aged gymnasts.
Trout Fest does not happen without a strong team of volunteers working tirelessly to make the event run seamlessly. Arbaugh said “Elizabeth (Alt) goes out of her way to make contact and make sure we have all the information we need,” while Dahmer praised those who work to put it on don’t do it for “getting credit or recognition for it.”
