2023 DATE: July 14-16, 2023
This post documents my experience on July 19, 2013.
The village of Castalia is probably best known for the old tourist attraction, the Blue Hole, a fresh water pond fed by an underwater spring that, thanks to its crystal clear waters, appears to be bottomless.
Unfortunately, the Blue Hole is no longer open to the public (it closed it 1990), but those waters still run on into Cold Creek, a river that never freezes…
…and probably merits a little celebration of its own.
But the Castalia Cold Creek Celebration is actually more of a town festival than a festival about Cold Creek…
…and I admit that I was initially wary to see the standard food booths…
…and vendors with baseball caps, beads and giveaways.
Fortunately, as I dug deeper…
…I noticed Boy Scouts selling some Tofts…
…and a few booths off the main strip…
…where the Lions sold pork chops and there was some local perch.
In fact, I appreciated the aspects of community even more than the dunk tank…
…the entertainment stage…
…and the varieties of beer available, although important festival contributions.
That’s why I was moved by the unity of this booth…
…which sought to find answers concerning a local tragedy (Justice for Jake)…
…and I noticed that this feeling stayed with me as I strolled down the road…
…and then watched a memorial service…
…where the fallen were honored for their services and sacrifices.
Watching all the flags wave in the distance was mesmerizing.
It was even more so once you walked among them.