By Vinde Wells

vwells@oglecounty

news.com

From the Food Court and Farmers Market to the Harvest Time Parade, festival organizers deemed this weekend’s Autumn on Parade a rousing success.

“I think it was a success. It went very well,” said AOP President Marseyne Snow. “Even though it was cloudy part of the time, people seemed to enjoy themselves.”

Snow said Sunday’s parade had 124 units, many of which were based on the festival theme of Flashback to the 1970s.

“We had 130 signed up, but we did have a few no-shows,” Snow said.

The downtown streets were packed elbow-to-elbow with people watching the parade and cheering enthusiastically for their favorite entries.

The 5k run Sunday morning drew 531 participants - 100 more than last year.

Back downtown, vendors appeared to leave the festival happy.

Food Court Chairman Ray Farrey said most booths there sold out before the festival was over.

“Cliff Jones made 500 dozen cider donuts Saturday, and had to turn people away when he ran out around 4 in the afternoon,” Farrey said.

Jones provides donuts for the Oregon Masonic Lodge’s food booth.

The Ogle County Beef Producers sold 800 sandwiches on Saturday, and were out of food by 2 p.m. on Sunday, Farrey said.

He listed off several more vendors who found themselves in the same situation.

Farrey said he believes the cool weather, in the upper 50s, played a big part.

“It was an ideal weekend for the Food Court,” he said. “It was cooler so people were eating rather than just getting soft drinks. The crowd was bigger, too, this year.”

Farmers Market Chairman Dave Boehle said the 189 booths at this year’s festival may be the most ever.

“They all seemed to be really pleased with their sales,” he said. “We heard nothing but positives.”

One vendor took a chance and drove 340 miles to display her wares.

Liz Hanson, Mercer, Wisconsin, brought a variety of homemade metal spinners, whirligigs, and small garden signs.

She makes them by hand with her husband.

“I do all the welding on these spinners,” she said. “They ride on stainless steal bearings and will spin easy.”

When they first go in a garden the silver from the stainless steel is bright and shiny and shows some darker spots from the welding.

In less then a year the creations come alive.

“They will naturally rust and patina,” said Hanson.

Throughout the festival, shoppers were spotted carrying the spinners through the farmer’s market.

The festival also provided a time to see the community where Hanson’s mother was raised.

“I decided to give this festival a try,” she said.

Another vendor was selling small barn quilts and had a shorter drive to attend the farmer’s market, just 24 miles.

Lori Blask owns Baileyville Barn Quilts and had a variety of small ones for sale this year.

The boards ranged in size from small 12 inch squares to 3 foot square quilts.

“Barn quilts can hang on the house, barn, shed, or garage,” said Blask. “They are popular in Wisconsin where you see the larger barn quilts.”

In keeping with the festival theme, Elvis fans got a chance Sunday to sway and sing along with “The King.”

Elvis impersonator Chris Corcoran, Mt. Morris, belted out favorites like “Blue Christmas” and “Blue Suede Shoes” to the delight of the cheering crowd.

Kali Aluli, Oregon, danced to the music, holding his 4-year-old granddaughter.

“We came to support Chris,” he said. “He’s fabulous - he has a great voice.”

Across the Rock River at Oregon Park East, horse power was the focus on Saturday.

Run by Focus House, the annual AOP Auto Classic brought 175 rides from vintage 1930s cars to modern muscle cars.

Jim Dunham, Elmhurst, brought one of the rarest cars in the country to the show.

His 1939 Graham Coupe is one of 12 registered in the county.

“We think there are only 20 of these cars,” said Dunham. “I belong to Graham International and there are 12 registered cars. It is a very rare car.”

Dunham thinks that there may be other examples of the car waiting to be discovered.

“There is always one stuck in a barn somewhere,” he said.

This coupe received a full two-year restoration and was modified to be more of a hotrod style while retaining most of the stylings and feel of the original car.

The work was completed shortly before Dunham purchased the car four years ago.

Chris Johnson contributed to this story.