#2 Strawberry Festival - Newton, IL - May 30, 2009

The Pancakes were so worth the early drive. As good as it looks, it tasted better.











Then it literally rained on our parade. Although there is something to be said about such a little kid on such a big horse.









Strawberry shortcake. As bad as it looks, it was delicious. You can't go wrong with shortcake, 2 scoops of strawberry ice cream (made right there), fresh strawberry topping and whipped cream. The rain was no match.



















The Nascar Challenge. You have to unscrew all 5 lug nuts with the air powered wrench, take off the tire, and then re-screw all 5 nuts. Apparently a 2-man Nascar crew can do it in 9 seconds, the kids there set times around 11 seconds, and I came in at 16.4 seconds. Not bad for a first time city boy.




And now our video of the week. I was mesmerized by that little dancing doll, but they refused to turn him loose. So they let the kids play with it. The doll's name was Billy Bob and I will always wonder just what dance moves he kept from me.


This was a great start to out of town festivals. Everyone in Newton was extremely nice and engaging. When I woke up in St. Louis at 6:45 it was pouring rain, and I'll admit I was doubting my chances of getting pancakes (scheduled for 6-10 am). Mother nature tested my resolve, and I was up to the challenge. I arrived in Newton at 9:45, just in time to get pancakes. The cooking crew was beginning to eat after working in the kitchen, and decided to join me for breakfast. I met Barbara (made the strawberry topping) and Scott (made the pancakes) and they told me that Burl Ives (you might know him as the narrator of Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer) was actually born and buried in Newton. They were very helpful, proud, and kind in giving me a quick synopsis of Newton's history. From there it was off to the parade. It had everything from Citizen of the Year and kids in strawberry get-up, to old time cars and This was a great start to out of town festivals. Everyone in Newton was extremely nice and engaging. When I woke up in St. Louis at 6:45 it was pouring rain, and I'll admit I was doubting my chances of getting pancakes (scheduled for 6-10 am). Mother nature tested my resolve, and I was up to the challenge. I arrived in Newton at 9:45, just in time to get pancakes. The cooking crew was beginning to eat after working in the kitchen, and decided to join me for breakfast. I met Barbara (made the strawberry topping) and Scott (made the pancakes) and they told me that Burl Ives (you might know him as the narrator of Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer) was actually born and buried in Newton. They were very helpful, proud, and kind in giving me a quick synopsis of Newton's history. From there it was off to the parade. It had everything from Citizen of the Year and kids in strawberry get-up, to old time cars and candy throwing. The skies grew angry, and I followed Barbara's suggestion to go to Arndt's Fudge, where I got some great strawberry fudge and dreamsicle fudge. By then the Litlle Pick of the Patch contest began. There were some cute kids, but every baby was a winner and got a certificate and a grab bag from Little Ms. Jasper County. Then I proved an Indian man can change a Nascar tire. The food was excellent. I had the pancakes, a funnel cake, strawberry shortcake, a gyro, and fudge. I loved this festival and can only hope it didn't set the bar too high for the festivals to come.