2023 DATE: June 23-25, 2023
This post documents my experience on June 24, 2017.
At the Maria Stein Shrine of the Holy Relics…
…a quite impressive festival called Country Fest took place on the grounds.
Like other festivals, there were rows of vendors…
…many offering knick-knacks and accessories.
But here, there was also an art show at the Shrine…
…as well as a large crafts tent…
…with goat milk soaps (Goodwin Knoll)…
…hand-cut glass and mirrors…
…and local bread made for (and sold at) the Shrine (St. Henry Bake Shoppe).
Also like other festivals, there were decadent festival food vendors selling kettle corn and more…
…but Country Fest also had a nice amount of food booths run by local groups…
…and often with clear colorful signs of what they offered…
…one of which definitely caught my eye.
And, finally, like other festivals, there was entertainment in the forms of a car show…
…an entertainment stage…
…and a carnival…
…with rides, games and fair food.
But there were also pony rides…
…petting and exotic animals (Valley Exotics)…
…face painting…
…sand sculpting…
…more entertainment stages…
…and bingo.
In fact, the entertainment factor just kept going with gambling games…
…Jurassic Kingdom performances…
…Tractor Square Dancing (I heard this was incredible)…
…circus shows (Nojoe’s Circus)…
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…filled with great stunts…
…stilt walkers and jugglers (Cincinnati Circus)…
…a kids activity area…
…and athletic competitions across the festival grounds…
…that included volleyball…
…and dodgeball.
And if all that racing around was too much for you…
…there was always the opportunity to check out the Shrine’s museum…
…take some time for reflection…
…or enjoy a nice cold adult beverage…
…which is perfect with some delicious turtle soup!