The Magnolia Festival took place this past Saturday in Gardendale. This festival has taken place for many years and I haven’t missed one yet. Most people can still remember when it was the Jug Town Jubilee. Whatever you want to call it, just call it fun.

This year there seemed to be more vendors than ever before. There were enough political booths to make you think you were on the White House’s front lawn, each promoting their beliefs and pushing for your votes. This was very interesting since the elections are fast approaching. Getting to meet the politicians and pick their brains for their thoughts was exciting and educational.

There were tons of rides for the kids, including a fishing booth and face paintings. In the First Baptist Church parking lot, they had many of the rides set up, and there was a stage for multiple singers to perform.

There was also a section of antique cars. These were all beautiful and meant even more to me because I had attended the festival with my granddaddy, C.J. Shaver. It was his first time to go to the festival and he had stories for almost every make of car there. He had a truck like one that we saw and his parents owned two different types of cars that were present. This made the day even more special because it took on a deeper meaning.

Before crossing the street into the civic center lawn, everyone had to take a second and notice the outhouse that Latta Plumbing had at their booth. It was neat to see one and people were even getting their pictures taken in it.

If you were looking for jewelry, purses or clothes, the Magnolia Festival was the place to be. There were items hanging in every booth. Be it silver, gold or leather, whatever you wanted could be found there.

The product vendors were great, but don’t forget the food. There were polish sausage dogs, snow cones, funnel cakes, cotton candy, barbeque and corn on the cob. You name it and it was there.

The weather was perfect and it seemed that people were having a great time.

The day was polished off with the much anticipated “pooch parade” that weaved its way through the crowd. There were pups of all sizes, wagging their tails and enjoying the attention. My personal favorite was a tall furry dog that had knee high red socks on. I didn’t care for his Alabama hounds tooth back cover, but it was a cute idea.

There were dogs that were too small to walk for themselves and even one that was being pushed in a doggy stroller. If you are a dog lover, you would have loved this parade.

All in all, it was a great experience. You could spend lots of money or spend nothing, but enjoy the music and atmosphere. Either way you go, you were bound to have a good time.