Published: June 13, 2009 09:20 pm      

River Festival

RONCEVERTE — To the delight of the organizers of the 22nd annual River Festival, Saturday’s early threat of rain dissipated by mid-morning and crowds poured onto Island Park seeking fun and food.

By 11 a.m., a volleyball tournament was under way, nearly a dozen antique automobiles occupied a corner of the ballfield and a group of little girls gathered around the official weighing station with full fishing derby stringers. Shoppers wandered through booths stocked with handcrafted jewelry, ball caps, t-shirts and an array of WVU merchandise, while other festival-goers pondered the selection of food as lunchtime approached.

The food vendors’ trailers boasted colorful signs touting every kind of carnival fare imaginable — corn dogs, funnel cakes, warm pretzels, soft-serve ice cream, steak sandwiches, barbecue and oversized cinnamon rolls, just to name a few.

According to festival chairman Freddie Hodges, this year’s event drew more vendors than ever before. Hodges credited former chairman and longtime volunteer Marty Smith with keeping the vendor area organized.

“He’s got a photographic memory for the vendors,” Hodges said of Smith. “He remembers who’s been here from year to year and what location they prefer.”

Hodges relies on a volunteer corps of 15 to 20 dedicated people. “They do whatever they can do,” he said, adding, “But we’re not getting any younger.”

Mayor Gail White agreed, saying, “We need some young blood.”

White was helping man the booth selling rubber duck race tickets on the island Saturday. Sales had been slower than usual in the weeks leading up to the festival, according to volunteer Barbara Sweetwood, but Friday and Saturday were a different story.

“We had a great parade last night,” the mayor said. “And we sold more duck tickets Friday than we had in 20 years on a single day.”

One of the festival’s most popular features is the strawberry shortcake station, set up in the picnic shelter overlooking the Greenbrier River. The shortcakes are only available on Saturday, a limited availability that may contribute to their popularity.

Prepared entirely by the Friends of the Ronceverte Public Library, the generously sized shortcake bowls are filled to overflowing with home-baked cake, sweetened sliced strawberries and whipped topping.

All proceeds from the group’s sales go to benefit the library. In past years, the funds have found their way into a contribution for new carpeting at the library and supplies for story hour, as well as the purchase of new books every month, according to the organization’s president, Vi Hedrick.

“Along with the used book sale we have in the fall, this is our biggest fundraiser of the year,” Hedrick explained. “All the work is done by our members and every penny raised goes toward the needs of the library.”

Other volunteers working at the strawberry shortcake booth this year were Terry Curry, Betty Ralston, Colleen Walton and Sue Ella Miano.

The festival continues today with a poker run at noon, a mud bog at 1 p.m., Irish road bowling at 2 and concerts by John Sines Jr. and the Gloryland Quartet. The grand fireworks finale is scheduled for 9:30 tonight.

— E-mail: talvey@register-herald.com