By Sherry Larson
People’s Defender
Many attendees enjoyed fair autumn weather at the Seaman Fall Festival last weekend. Terri Davis, Seaman Festival President and the first woman to hold that position, opened ceremonies. Maria Sexton sang the National Anthem and entertained the audience with happy Disney tunes. The North Adams choir and band performed, followed by the 2022 Queen contest.
Davis described the festival as “phenomenal with a super crowd – best in years.” Joyce Brown did a great job of securing vendors. And Davis was right about the baked potatoes. Best baked potato I’ve ever eaten, and I came back for another. If one wonders why these potatoes are unsurpassed, just ask Reece Meyers, 2022 Seaman Festival Queen, who told C103’s Don Bowles, “They are made with love.”
The lightweight tractor-pull on Thursday morning brought in 54 tractors and the evening’s middleweight 48. Friday’s heavyweight pull saw 24 tractors; Saturday was the finale with 123. Saturday’s rain caused a two-hour delay, and Davis reported that they pulled tractors from 1:00 p.m. until 5:45 a.m. Sunday morning.
Thursday marked the popular return of the North Adams students marching in their parade. Davis said, “It was a big success and exciting because we all did it when we were kids – it’s a wonderful tradition.” The Seaman streets lined again to watch the entertaining parade on Saturday with its unique and merry procession. Grand Marshals Jim and Melissa Hupp led the way.
Church 180 helped to bring the wood derby car contest back. One hundred twenty-five contestants participated in the fun. Of course, no festival is complete without Little Miss and Mr. and the Baby Contests. Judging all the cuteness overload must be challenging – they are so precious.
It was a great and busy weekend, and the Seaman Festival was a significant success. Davis took a lot of ribbing about being the first woman Festival President, but she took it all in stride. She said, “I work with some super people.”