Richmond Dale is an unincorporated community southeast of Chillicothe that you can find right off of US Route 35. And when you get off the exit during their Salt Creek Valley Festival, you can find a huge “Road Closed” sign keeping you from entering town.
Fortunately, I was able to turn down a narrow road…
…and easily park myself next to a corn field.
The festival takes place at the intersection of Main Street and Vigo Road…
…and even in this photo you can see most of it.
This didn’t concern me much because I didn’t really expect the festival to be all that big. And usually with town or community festivals (as opposed to a specific theme), I’ve had enough disappointments to not get my hopes up.
But it was early on…
…when I was checking out those orange sugar cookies…
…that I remembered how it was the people that made a festival special. And as I chatted with the owner of that booth about festivals and the area, I started to see more potential in the Salt Creek Valley Festival and the community…
…and I looked over the food with a refreshed spirit…
…taking delight in recognizing the vendor from Chillicothe…
…getting excited by seeing my first Amish fried pie booth…
…and even laughing at the political commentary.
But that’s not all I noticed.
While most of the vendors were clumped together…
…I noticed a lone vendor sitting off in the distance.
This wouldn’t have grabbed my attention so much…
…if I hadn’t already seen the Bible Stories caboose…
…a good distance beyond the rides and games
Whether these booths were out there to avoid a vendor’s booth fee…
…or fearful of the gun and bow raffles…
…I’m not too sure…
…but the people at the welcoming booth seemed friendly enough.
And the people of Richmond Dale seemed to be a proud community…
…as they put themselves on display to the world…
…through their exhibition of local talent and history…
…even managing some entertainment for the stage.
I even saw some celebrities my nephew and niece would have appreciated…
…SpongeBob SquarePants was particularly welcoming…
…while Mickey was a little elusive.
It took a few shots…
….but I finally got him to smile (at someone else).