Abandoned - Festival Grounds - Story 69

[Abandoned]

 @Kristahfer  Those umbrella vendor stands and carts with the green covers are part of EB Village Resort Deco mod.  The bigger wagon is DS Wagon Vendor.  I was happy with how many mods fit well with Festival Grounds. 

[Abandoned]

Chapter 10


  Just to the south of the vendor's area we set up an area for exhibits.  There were always new items at the festivals that needed to be demonstrated to generate interest in the product.  Small items were exhibited inside the tent and larger ones outside.  Our first exhibit was on growing cotton and making linen fabric and clothes.  The exhibitor was from the southwest where the climate was warmer and drier than it was here, the irrigation system like the one used on the tomato patch was being demonstrated here too. 

  Also being demonstrated in the exhibit area was a new invention called a bicycle.  One of these bicycles had 3 wheels for better balance and the one with 2 wheels had a basket.  Imagine, weary traveler, being able to ride down the road to the store instead of walking.  A stone road was used to demonstrate how to ride a bicycle but there were soon several bicycles being ridden around our festival ground's dirt roads.

  Next to the exhibit area was another demonstration of the irrigation system, this time growing a patch of corn.  A market fall food stand was built and our festival grounds had a corn roast area with umbrella tables.  The workplace dairy switched from making cheese to making butter to dip the roasted corn into.  We had a feeling that the corn roast would become a standard for festival grounds everywhere.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 11


  Another market fall food stand was built over by the carrot patch contest.  This one was baking potatoes.  What would a Hobbit festival be without a hot potato race to compete in?  All you had to do was be the first one to the finish line without dropping the hot potato.  We Hobbits really like potatoes.  Land was being cleared by the school for another field of potatoes.   Next to the potato race we set up the standard wheelbarrow race.

  Both the Fish & Chips and Fall Food stand need firewood so we setup a firewood cutting contest nearby.  We built a bridge across the river to a wooded area where we could build a forester stand.  We erected a large Festival Grounds banner on the bridge for anyone traveling the river to see.  We had just setup the Wheel of Fortune contest where contestants predict a color and win a prize if the wheel stops spinning on that color when another houseboat came down the river.  Two small boats came down the stream and several families came overland.  Altogether 20 visitors, vendors, and workers with 3 young children arrived at the festival grounds that year.  We posted festival signs on the south border and on the stream.  Our rooming houses were filled to capacity.  We needed housing and we needed food.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 12


  The forester station was completed across the river and a house was built for one of the families who would do some hunting.  Some worker housing was built for the foresters. 

  Across the stream in the livestock area 2 families set up exhibits of farm animals that were not widely raised in the Shire.  One was a large meaty bird called a turkey and the other was similar to a wild boar.  It was called a pig and the lean meat was called pork.  A pig would be roasted on a spit by the food tent for visitors to sample.  It was becoming very popular down around Riverboat Junction.  Both exhibits were very popular here and drew a small crowd. Turkey chicks and little piglets were for sale inside the exhibit tent.

On main street, not far from the food tent, we build 3 buildings, a town hall, a post office, and a bookstore.  We needed a place to keep town records, inventories, and production information, a town hall was what we needed.  We also needed a place for residents and visitors to leave and pick up letters from friends and family.  We were always asked if so-and-so was here or had been here.  We had several notice boards around the festival grounds but notes left on them were temporary because of the weather.  We were also asked for information about items seen at the festival or where things were here and around the Shire.  One of the riverboat men was getting us some world maps that were now being circulated and we hoped to soon have a map of the festival grounds itself.  We would be able to direct those type of inquires to the new book store.

  We were also being asked where the judging tables were.

[Kristahfer]

@Abandoned would you please post directions? A weekend at the Festival would grand trip.

[Abandoned]

    You may change your mind when you see all the accommodations.    Oh, I am so looking forward to our County Fair this summer now.   There was none last year because of the pandemic. 

[Abandoned]

Chapter 13


  We chose the area by the Exhibit Tent that was demonstrating cotton growing and linen making.  We set up several tables with coverings in case of rain and we soon had an assortment of jams and jellies and fresh produce to be judged.  Quilts and linens were latter added.  Another prize tent was set up and now all the prize tents had jars of jams to choose from.  The area next to the judging area was fenced off and designated for use by anyone who wanted a place to grow their prize winning vegetables.

  A special area was set up on Main Street for pie judging.  There were fruit pies and meat pies to be judged.  Contestants were allowed to make and bake their pies at the pie oven built there.

  Milk production had increased and 2 workplace dairies were added to the food tent area, one dairy would make cheese for the pizza hat and one would make butter for the corn roast.  The dairy workplace in the livestock judging area was now making cream.

  Wild foods were again gathered and our food surplus increased sufficiently.  We could now turn our attention elsewhere.

[Abandoned]

Chapter 14


  We decided to develop the area across the stream from the food tent.  We marked the bridge with tall flags and banners that read Rest Area and Lodging.  We had a need for both permanent and temporary housing, and working mothers wanted a place for the children to play and be supervised while they worked.  The festival grounds was a safe place for the children, everyone knew each other and kept an eye on the children, but other than the potato race, carrot patch, and rabbit garden there was not much geared for them.  On the other side of the stream we built a large playground with a slide, sandbox, teeter totter, spinning wheel, and swings.  We built a school house for some indoor time and lessons.  There were rooms to rent and a couple of houses but best of all was the ice cream wagon.  The milk cows were just up the road where more worker housing was built.

Next we turned to a little more fun and entertainment for the adult residents and visitors.  Over by the boat moorings we built a music tent and workplace brewer.  There was always someone on stage entertaining during the day but it was nice to sit out in the evening with the summer breeze coming in off the lake and enjoy live music and a mug of cold ale.  Life was good.

[taniu]

@Abandoned I and my wife, thank you for a wonderful new story, everyone will need a little bit of expression and optimism, a wonderful Festival, but we can only dream that we are also there. I miss the sea, water, waterfall, forest and nature. Greetings

[Abandoned]

  greetings, @taniu and wife.  I am glad to hear you are enjoying the Festival.  We will be returning to the waters and the forests soon. 

[Abandoned]

Chapter 15


  Life was not so good elsewhere.  We heard about a giant frog attack down south in Summerset Swamp a few years ago and there's been sickness and disease and hardship in the swamp ever since, not to mention trouble with pirates.  We were not surprised when 37 swamp dweller arrived asking to take up residence with us, they claimed to have a lot to offer our festival grounds.  They arrived in 3 sailboats with small potted trees, crates, and sacks of seeds.  We could not turn them away.  We would need housing, there was not quite enough room in the boarding houses.

  They asked if they could build a small race track.  We agreed.  There was room by the wheelbarrow race.  They also asked for space in the vendors area.  We were curious what they had in the 4 crates.  They immediately set to work building the race track.  There were 4 tracks marked with colored flags and start and finish signs.  The 4 crates sat alongside.

  Meanwhile in the vendors area they set out the pots of trees.  The trees had yellow fruits that we were told prevented sailors from getting scurvy on long voyages.  Mychalmers, the seed merchant, also told us the yellow fruit was called lemons and was  popular with pirates down south.  We traded for strawberry seeds that year.

  The new arrivals saw that we had fertilizer in the garden supply shed and said they could compost it to feed the vegetables they wanted to grow.  We gave the okay for the compost bin to be built.  When that was done they built a small colorful stand and picked some of the yellow fruit from their potted trees to make a drink they called lemonade.  It was rather tart and we were surprised how much the children liked it, they can't get enough candy and sweet treats.  The lemonade stand became quite popular.

  Also popular was the race track the swamp dwellers built.  In summer spectators were already lined up to watch.  After hearing tales of giant killer frogs you can imagine our shock and trepidation when they unpacked 4 giant snails from the crates and placed them at the starting lines.  Safety fences were built between the spectators and the tracks and the snails were set to go.  The blue snail racing under the blue flag on track 2 was the first one to approach the starting line in autumn.  And they were off.  It promised to be an exciting race. 

[kid1293]

"The blue snail racing under the blue flag on track 2 was the first one to approach the starting line in autumn."

That was funny! Race expected to end next spring! 

[Abandoned]

 

[MiriamWTH]

This is the coolest thing I have read in ages! I am so happy I found this forum! 

[Abandoned]

Welcome to the forum @MiriamWTH (with the hat)    Glad you like the story.