McCORDSVILLE — One year rain flooded the tents. Another year, there was unseasonal light snow.
“I can still remember standing in line 40 minutes to get a fish sandwich,” Tim Cooper recalls.
That’s the kind of customer loyalty that keeps a festival going for more than 70 years.
Organizers of the 71st annual Lord’s Acre Festival plan to welcome hundreds again this year, hoping to do so amid dry, crisp start-of-fall weather.
The festival runs from 4-8 p.m. Sept. 15 and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sept. 16 at the church, 6247 W. Broadway, McCordsville.
Cooper and Lee Guthrie, co-chairs of this year’s festival, know there’s a lot to do between now and then: Setting up tents, running electrical lines. Making batches of baked beans, cole slaw, and macaroni and cheese. Unloading some 600 pounds of cod, 600 pounds of French fries and 500 pounds of tenderloin so festival crews can cook them and serve festivalgoers.
“There’s a lot of old friends coming to meet up again,” Guthrie said. “Once a year they come and have their fish and sit around and talk and reminisce about the things they used to do.”
Festival organizers think the festival’s staying power has been in offering both a good product and opportunities for people to connect while they eat it. They say they’ve sought to consistently offer a quality fried-fish sandwich, sticking with cod and a respectable portion size.
“We don’t slack on the amount …,” Guthrie said. “They’re going to get their money’s worth.”
While that item has been part of the festival for decades, the menu does include more recent additions, such as coney cheese fries, fish tacos and funnel cakes.
By adding live music, a children’s bounce house and face painting, and more than 25 vendors, the festival is offering people a place to linger and socialize.
Cooper has attended Lord’s Acre for more than 30 years. About eight years, when conversation at his house turned to going to church, they remembered the festival and chose McCordsville United Methodist Church.
“That church has always been so friendly,” Cooper said. “The people treated us like they knew us their whole lives.”
Guthrie said that sense of community deepens among members, too, as they work together to make each year’s festival happen.
“All the workers have a lot of fun doing it,” he said. “It’s a lot of work, but we have a lot of fun doing it.”
LORD’S ACRE 2023
4-8 P.M. SEPT. 15
4-8 p.m.: silent auction
5-7 p.m.: Vintage Car Show
5-8 p.m.: Face painter, balloon twister, bounce house
5:30-7 p.m.: Church Praise Band on the Music Stage
Always open: Food tent, church playground, vendors
11 A.M.-8 P.M. SEPT. 17
11 a.m.: silent auction starts; end times are staggered
noon-1 p.m.: Larry Huston on the Music Stage
1:15-2:15 p.m.: Matt McClintick on the Music Stage
2-4 p.m.: face painter, balloon twister, bounce house
4-5 p.m.: Silly Safaris animal show on the Music Stage
5-6 p.m.: Touch a Truck with Vernon Township Fire Department, McCordsville Police Department and more
5-7 p.m.: face painter, balloon twister, bounce house
5:30-7 p.m.: Church Praise Band on the Music Stage
Always open: food tent, church playground and vendors
FESTIVAL FOOD
Food tent: Features fish sandwiches, fish tacos, hush puppies, chicken sandwiches, tenderloin, hotdogs, sloppy joes, coneys and sides; water, lemonade, tea and soft drinks; funnel cakes, ice cream cups, and homemade pies and cakes
Chicken and noodles: Served on Saturday only, starting at 11 a.m. for as long as supplies last (typically sell out in a couple of hours)
More information: For detailed menu, prices and festival schedule, see www.mccordsvilleumc.org/lords-acre.
