GREENFIELD — Despite a rainy start, the 54th annual Riley Festival will go down in the books as yet another sunny success.
The four-day fall festival wrapped up at 5 p.m. Sunday as more than 450 vendors packed up and headed home after hawking their wares at the well-attended festival.
“We’re guessing we had between 68,000 and 69,000 visitors over the course of all four days,” said Anita Turner, Riley Festival board president, who has served on the board since 2005.
It was a tiring yet rewarding week for Riley Festival volunteers, who work year-round to make each year’s festival a success.
“We start planning for next year’s festival at our next board meeting later this month,” said longtime board member Linda Jones, who allowed herself to sleep in a bit Monday morning after putting in countless hours of festival coordinating throughout the week.
Jones said vendors were cleared out by 6:30 p.m. Sunday, and festival volunteers headed to Tour of Italy in downtown Greenfield to enjoy some downtime and toast to yet another successful year.
The Riley Festival dates back to 1969 and has grown to include a wide variety of events, including an art show, parade, poetry readings and pageantry.
Jones said a record 32 children participated in the annual Little Miss & Mister pageant, held Friday, Oct. 6.
There was also a great turnout at the annual Mayor’s Breakfast, which the Riley Festival hosts each year to thank the mayor for the city’s ongoing support.
“The festival could not be what it is without the cooperation of the City of Greenfield,” said Turner. “We work hand in hand with each department and meet regularly leading up to the festival, in terms of planning and making sure we’re all ready and all the questions are answered. (Mayor Fewell) and I have worked very closely together in making sure the festival goes off without a hitch, and it always does.”
Despite a soggy start Thursday, as rain fell during the 5 p.m. opening ceremonies and well throughout the evening, Turner said festivalgoers continued to enjoy the food and music.
“We gave the vendors the option of closing down early and most opted to stay open, especially the food vendors, and they had people lined up,” she said.
A sizable crowd filled the Greenfield Banking Co. entertainment tent to hear the Woomblies Rock Orchestra perform that night.
“They’ve become our traditional opening night headliner band, and they always do a great job,” said Turner, who said the crowd stayed dry beneath the entertainment tent.
“At times it rained hard, but beyond that there was no inclement weather. We work in conjunction with Greenfield police and fire departments, and of course our exceptional board, to monitor the weather in case there’s ever a need to close the festival,” she said.
Chuck McMichael, public information officer for the Greenfield Police Department, said officers are always patrolling the festival, which traditionally runs smoothly each year.
“That says a lot about our community,” he said. “Traffic was pretty smooth this year, and we had very few issues with semis getting stuck on side streets like we have in previous years.”
Downtown business owner Jayne Hoadley thought this year’s festival was great for both festivalgoers and local businesses like hers.
“Those four days are super super important to our business,” said Hoadley, owner of Greenfield Chocolates, situated just west of the main intersection of State and Main streets.
“We do as much in those four days as we would do in an entire month, and we meet new people every single year. That is so important because introducing our product to new people is what helps our business grow,” she said.
Hoadley stepped outside her shop Saturday morning to enjoy the Riley Festival parade, which she said seemed like one of the longest parades in recent memory.
“The whole festival had a really great feel this year. I know people really enjoyed it,” she said. “I think the live music and the parade and all the other things leading up to the festival really contribute to its overall success.”
