Midway Messenger

Crowd on Winter Street (Photos by Grant Wheeler)

By Kennedy Sabharwal
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Heat, laughter, funnel cakes, smiles, trinkets, and the sound of trains rolling through the town. So went the scenes and feelings at the 45th annual Midway Fall Festival this weekend. Midway was packed, and traffic was barely moving, due to the apparent record crowd, which officials estimated at 18,000.

“Around 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, the interstate exists were backed up, and we decided since there was not any parking left in town, to suggest to people coming in to visit later in the day or on Sunday,” Mayor Grayson Vandegrift said in an email to the Midway Messenger.

“You can only get in two ways,” said West Sixth Brewery’s events-team manager, Nate Harling. “They had to turn people away because they couldn’t fit in the town and the ATM was out of money. I was like, wow; the festival is doing really well.”

Traffic backed up to the exits on Interstate 64, forcing officials to turn people away. (Photo by Grant Wheeler)

Venturing around the festival may have been hot and draining, but the sense of community and joy that you could feel in the air was amazing.

Nate Harling taps a draft. (Photo by Kennedy Sabharwal)

“I love it because the people are kind,” said Harling. “Midway is nice because this is literally their downtown. It’s nice to have all of these temporary set-ups among your various main-stay, small businesses and everyone is thriving and having a good day together.”

Harling, who lives in Lexington, said West Sixth has been making appearances at events like this for years, but he hadn’t been to the festival since he was 6 years old.

While some walked around buying gifts like soaps, purses, scarves, honey, or even jewelry, some younger attendees had a different idea of how they wanted to spend their day at the festival. Children were able to ride ponies and play fun games to blow off some energy in the hot weather.

Photo by Kennedy Sabharwal

Ruby Battagalia, right, enjoyed a funnel cake before she ventured off to the bouncy house to “have some fun.”

Though many of the festival’s vendors have been setting up their stations in Midway for years, farmer Cindy Smith of Paris said this was her first year not just for vending, but attending. She is primarily a farmer, but loves making beautiful wreaths, so she decided to sign up to be a vendor.

“I started into dry wreaths last year,” she said. “You don’t see them that often anymore. I’ve shipped them all over the country, but I thought it would be nice to sell them locally, too. … Two weeks before the festival, the people in charge emailed me and told me I had a spot.”

Smith, below, only had a couple of days to work on her wreaths. She made 20 large wreaths, and was almost sold out early Sunday afternoon. She said she was “thrilled” with the outcome.

Photo by Kennedy Sabharwal, University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

Since it was so hot, some of the products were affected by the heat. Sweet Memories Fudge owner Cindy Gipson said she loves the festival and has been selling her fudge for the past four years. It’s hard for her to “display it since it is so hot,” but she now has regular customers who, “come up and say, ‘Hey! Were you here last year?’,” which Gipson says helps to keep business up, even with the weather.

The country group Bourbon Branch was among the entertainment for the festival. The band's debut album “Notches on the Bedpost” was released in the spring of 2018.

Ralph Tyree is a photographer based in Winchester. He started taking pictures as a hobby, which evolved into a 16-year career. He said he generally tries to do 12 shows a year to showcase his photography. His wide array of work encompasses many states. (Photo by Grant Wheeler)

Justin Stanley is a local entrepreneur who has recently started his company The Green Penguin which specializes in creating an array of different hot sauces. This year marks Stanley’s third year at the festival. The newest addition to his arsenal of sauces is The Penguin’s Fury, a smoky new flavor which mixes garlic and ghost pepper. (Photo by Grant Wheeler)

Jim Nancy, an East Tennessee native, has been making baskets for 18 years. Starting as a hobby, Nancy said “The kids left home and my wife decided we had to do something.” This was Nancy’s third year at the festival. “I love the people here in Midway so I’m going to keep coming back for as long as I can,” he said. (Photo by Grant Wheeler)