Festival draws huge crowd; more today

Published 5:15 am Sunday, April 23, 2017

It’s too early for hard numbers, but if the weather holds for today’s second round of activities at St. Bernard’s Bloomin’ Festival, organizers should have no trouble reaching their projected 20,000-visitor attendance.

Mild weather and strong word of mouth conspired Saturday to funnel people through the gates at a steady clip throughout the festival’s first day. Anecdotes from vendors and visitors alike suggested this year’s event enjoyed heavy interest, strong sales, and lots of out-of-town guests.

“I don’t know why I love it so much — but I do,” said Athens resident Rene Amerson, as she and her family paused on one of the north lawns to enjoy freshly-made funnel cakes.

“I’m not Catholic; I’m not even from here. I don’t have any reason to be invested in it, but we just keep coming back here every year. I just love it. This is such a pleasant place.”

The festival serves as the St. Bernard Preparatory School’s flagship fundraiser each year. This year’s event, the 33rd in the series, features more than 170 artists, craftspeople and food vendors spread across the Abbey’s picturesque grounds.

“It’s just been wonderful, and of course the weather’s been good for us,“ said Fr. Joel Martin near the end of the festival’s first day. “People are really enjoying it, and they’ve been coming in pretty steadily all day.”

Second-year vendor Leigh Ann Hurst, who designs and crafts delicate metal jewelry from her Decatur studio, didn’t regret reserving a booth for another stint at the Bloomin’ Festival.

“Oh, it’s been worth it for sure; it’s been really good,” said Hurst Saturday afternoon. “It was so busy this morning, I called my husband in a panic and said, ‘S.O.S! There’re all these people! Get down here!’”

Expect more music, food, prizes and, of course, awesome art as the festival concludes today. Hancevill’es Cotton Pickin’ Kids are scheduled to perform, along with the St. Bernard Choir and St. Bernard Jazz Band.

In conjunction with Bloomin’ Festival, the adjacent Ave Maria Grotto is offering a discounted admission price of $3 per person throughout the weekend.

Today at 5 p.m., the prep school will give away a stash of valuable prizes, topped off by the giveaway of a 2017 Jeep Patriot. Other prizes include an Apple iPad Mini, Beats Studio Headphones, a Fitbit Flex 2 sports band, and a Roku Express streaming media box.

Keep up with the Bloomin’ Festival by liking the event’s Facebook page at facebook.com/bloominfestival, and by visiting the website at bloominfestival.com.

Benjamin Bullard can be reached by phone at 256-734-2131 ext. 145.