Crestline mayor: 'People come home for the Harvest Festival'

Every year, the Crestline Harvest Festival brings visitors to the village over its three-day run. Mayor Linda Horning Pitt is confident they'll be back.

"If people can come in, have a really great experience, then they'll come back," she said. "They'll come visit outside of the festival."

The village was looking its best as the festival got started Thursday evening, and the weather seemed determined to cooperate for the event's three-day run along Thoman Street.

"It's going great," said Clayton Herold, finishing up his final year as festival director. "All the preparation, planning; it's all come together. It's kind of been a little bit easier this year with everything — I've delegated out a lot more this, my last, year. So it's not a lot on me right now."

This year, planners tweaked the festival's traditional schedule, he said.

"We moved alumni night to Saturday night to allow the people that are coming back to go to the football game, which I think is a great change," Herold said. "We also now have what we call our backers night, which is a fundraising event for the booster club and Crestline Youth Sports. Plus we have a band, we have a bar and some food and stuff. It's going to be a better event than the previous."

Horning Pitt said the change would give returning alumni a better opportunity to see recent improvements to their hometown.

"People come home for the Harvest Festival, wherever they live, they come home," she said. "They get to see what our downtown looks like now. ... it's just a pretty downtown. And then it makes them want to give back. At least, that's my goal, is to give back."

Families enjoy festival

Of course, the Harvest Festival attracts plenty of current Crestline residents, too.

On Thursday, Malcom Jackson watched, beaming, as his 3-year-old son, Mac, enjoyed a ride on the kiddie Ferris wheel.

"He loves it. Absolutely loves it," Jackson said. "This is the first time I've got to do this with him. Last year, I had to work all day and the year before that, he was just a baby, and I think COVID was around, so we couldn't do anything. He is enjoying it."

Janelle Grube, president of Crestline Lions Club, was serving up hot dogs and bratwurst at her organization's food stand. It was her third year working in the tent, but the Lions Club has been a part of the festival "for years," she said.

"We're keeping our prices the same as last year, so families can afford it," Grube said. "Out hotdogs are a dollar, water's a dollar."

Business was brisk as the festival got started.

"We're starting early," said Lions Club member Bert Miller.

The best part of the festival?

"Just seeing all the families come out and enjoy themselves," Grube said.

Hannah Feldman, who was crowned Bucyrus Bratwurst Festival Queen in August, was on hand to help with festival's royalty competitions.

"My mom and I are the ones who run the pageant here; she is the director and I'm her co-director," Hannah said. "And it's such a close festival that being asked to come, I couldn't turn it down."

She wasn't going to make it to the festival's royalty luncheon, though — she's a cheerleader at Defiance College, and had to be at a game on Saturday. So she left school at 2 p.m. Thursday and arrived in Crawford County around 4:30 p.m., an hour before the Little Miss pageant was scheduled to start.

"It was kind of a long drive, but I love college," she said. "I have so many friends there and I'm excited for the next three-and-a-half years."

Pageant winners announced

Winners of the Crestline Harvest Festival royalty contests were:

Little Miss: Miss Congeniality, Ellie Baer; second attendant, Halle Tomecko; first attendant, Layla Snyder; Little Miss, Ellie Baer.

Princess: Miss Congeniality, Haleigh Pifer; second attendant, Victoria Stang; first attendant, Julia Schimpf; Princess, Sydney Link.

Queen: Miss Congeniality, Kiley Snyder; second attendant, Angel Hollingsworth; first attendant, Isabella Stang; Queen, Marlie Hosey.

ggoble@gannett.com

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