Ambiance draws fest regulars

From the Sunday, July 20, 2008 edition of the Northwest Herald:

Ambiance draws fest regulars
By DIANA SROKA - dsroka@nwherald.com

McHENRY – Mark Fluger stirs his sugary mixture into a large, black, copper kettle.

It’s a hot job, he says.

He’s in town from Twin Lakes, Wis. It’s his eighth Fiesta Days.

When the mixture is slimy, he adds a pound of popcorn kernels. A line forms at his Country Time Kettle Corn booth on Court Street.

He stirs some more.

Within minutes, the kettle is brimming.

Fluger reaches for the bell.

Ding, ding, ding! Another batch is ready.

The sweet, fluffy treat wasn’t the only draw to Veterans Memorial Park on Saturday.

The festival’s ambiance has attracted McHenry resident Stan Mill for 18 years.

“[It’s] the whole family, small-town atmosphere,” he said.

Mill and his wife brought their children to the festival years ago, the way Marion and Chris Metz brought 3-year-old Michael this year.

The Metz family is new to McHenry. They moved from Georgia last month.

They recognize the ambiance Mill enjoys.

“We’re taking in the atmosphere,” Marion Metz said. “We’ve found the people to be extraordinary, nice.”

They’re excited for today’s parade at 1:30.

For them, the festival is a welcome to town.

For Jaime and Ashley Magnus of Lakemoor, it’s a shopping trip.

The stepmother and stepdaughter browse a jewelry booth at the craft fair.

They’re scoping out rings.

“We always like the crafty stuff,” Jaime said.

And the sidewalk sales on Green Street – good bargains, they said.

At a booth selling trinkets, crowns and tiaras for girls, 9-year-old Emily Prescott received a hair wrap.

The Prescotts, from McHenry, vacationed in Florida this summer.

Emily wanted a hair wrap then, but there wasn’t time.

This was her chance.

“I like the color pink,” she said, as the hair wrap was completed.

Her sister Jessica, 5, waited for her turn.

“She’s excited to try it,” their mother Laura said.

Fiesta Days continues Saturday with Family Faith Night at Petersen Park.