Sugar Mound Arts & Crafts Festival set for this weekend

As has become the tradition, the Sugar Mound Arts & Crafts Festival parade, which officially kicks off the weekend festival, is led by a couple of dancing "maple leaves," symbolic of the fall foliage that surrounds Mound City. (Journal file photo)

By Roger Sims

rsims@linncountyjournal.com

MOUND CITY – If it’s the second full weekend in October, it is also the largest sales event of the year for Linn County.

This Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 11-12, is the annual Sugar Mound Arts & Crafts Festival at the Linn County Fairgrounds. However, local entrepreneurs have worked to capitalize on the continued success of the 50-plus-year-old festival with pop-up vendors along routes leading to the fairgrounds.

The event begins at 8 a.m. in the morning with the annual Sugar Mound 5K Run. In addition to the distance race for adults, there is also a fun run for kids 12 and younger. The race starts at Jayhawk-Linn High School at 8 a.m., and be there early for race day registration. 

The festival itself officially opens at 9 a.m., although shoppers tend to ignore opening times in their search for the best deals and most sought-after crafts.

Members of the Jayhawk-Linn Marching Band play the National Anthem at the beginning of last year's parade. (Journal file photo)

At 10 a.m., the annual Sugar Mound Parade kicks off from the Linn County Courthouse at Sixth Street in Mound City headed west on Main Street toward the fairgrounds. The parade is the largest parade each year in Linn County and includes at least two high school marching bands (Prairie View and Jayhawk-Linn), representatives of a variety of area businesses, horseback riders, and emergency vehicles, and classic automobiles.

On Sunday, the fairgrounds open again for shoppers at 9 a.m. The booths close down at 6 p.m. on Saturday and 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Kim Vinson, co-chair of the Sugar Mound Arts & Crafts Festival committee, said she was very excited about the coming weekend. She said the festival will have plenty of new vendors with exciting new products this year.

New also this year is the change in structures since last year’s festival. In its early years, the festival used the smaller livestock barns from the county fair, named the Apple Barn, the Cherry Barn, and Miss Piggy Barn. However, over the winter, the former swine facility was removed and in its place the livestock show arena was extended to cover where the former barn had been.

“That’s going to be awesome,” Vinson said about the expanded arena that will also expand the number of vendors under one roof.

Christy Nickelson, left, handles a long line of customers at the student bread soup bowl food booth. Staffed by students, the booth raises funds for students from Jayhawk-Linn and Prairie View high schools to travel abroad. (Journal file photo)

As usual, the center of the fairgrounds will be filled with food vendors with a variety of offerings from funnels cakes to pie to walking tacos to ice cream. A local favorite is a booth selling bread soup bowls with a variety of soups. Staffed by students, the proceeds of soup sales go toward sending the students on trips abroad.

As in the past, parking at the fairgrounds, while free, will be at a premium. So once again there will be parking with frequent bus shuttles from Jayhawk-Linn High School and also along Main Street once the parade is over.

For more information, go the the festival’s website.

In addition to off-grounds parking, the high school’s foyer and gym will also offer additional shopping opportunities. While the crafts fair stipulates vendor-made products, the Jolly Market Boutique at the high school allows purchased products along with those that are vendor-made. The boutique will keep the same hours, open at 9 a.m. on both days, closing at 6 p.m. on Saturday and 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Along with the shops and boutiques and food shops along Mound City’s Main Street, expect a number of pop-ups along the main drag. That includes vendors who will be set up at the Mound City Historical Park.