Everything just came together perfectly.
Over the weekend, the community was given a small taste of the annual Seymour Oktoberfest, which was canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The inaugural Knights of Columbus Council 1252 Spätsommer Fest on Friday and Saturday in Seymour was a rousing success, and Mother Nature cooperated with sunny skies and starry nights.
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Best of all, local nonprofit organizations and other vendors had the opportunity to earn much-needed funds since many events have been canceled this year.
“Such a good crowd of people coupled with great weather, food and beer transformed Seymour into a happy place for just a little while. We’re not done yet,” the Knights of Columbus posted on Facebook on Friday night.
The Seymour Oktoberfest usually is a big fundraiser for the Knights and many other organizations and churches, and since that event was canceled this year, they needed to find another way to raise funds.
“I believe this will be a test for other southern Indiana festivals,” Jim Ward said while working at the Knights of Columbus booth Friday. “If this event can take place without any problems, I think there will probably be more taking place around here.”
Ward said the Knights of Columbus might plan a similar event in the spring if all goes well.
Doug Ray, president of the Seymour Noon Lions Club, worked at the organization’s booth Friday afternoon. The group sold soft drinks and a limited number of Seymour Oktoberfest T-shirts.
“The funds we raise are distributed to different organizations in the community and the county, so this event is something to get a little of our funding built back up,” Ray said. “Even if it won’t be as much as we make at Oktoberfest, anything we get will help add to this year’s budget.”
Lions Club secretary Christy Nolan said the club’s budget this year is half of what it normally is, largely due to the cancellation of two of its biggest annual fundraisers, Pig in the Park and Oktoberfest.
“We’re at half of the money we give out for the year, so we are trying to recoup that,” Nolan said. “Losing those two fundraisers really hurt us, so the amount we can give will definitely be down this year.”
Nolan said the club and other nonprofits are definitely thankful the Knights of Columbus offered the festival.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to give out money for our scholarships next year. That’s our goal,” she said. “We would like to try and keep our core group that we give to each year along with the scholarships.”
A large tent was set up in the middle with seating, along with picnic tables set up around the festival grounds. There also was a beer garden with draft beer and seltzers.
Live music was featured on the stage on the west end of the B and O Railroad Parking Lot, where Forrest Turner played for about an hour before Past Tense took the stage Friday evening and Jacob Cruser and Bad Medicine performed Saturday night.
Dave Rossi with the Knights of Columbus submitted a health and safety plan to the Jackson County Health Department in line with Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb’s reopening plan due to the pandemic, and the plan was approved.
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{span class=”d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql rrkovp55 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m” dir=”auto”}{span class=”d2edcug0 hpfvmrgz qv66sw1b c1et5uql rrkovp55 a8c37x1j keod5gw0 nxhoafnm aigsh9s9 d3f4x2em fe6kdd0r mau55g9w c8b282yb iv3no6db jq4qci2q a3bd9o3v knj5qynh oo9gr5id hzawbc8m” dir=”auto”}On the Knights of Columbus Facebook page, a statement was posted saying they want a return to normalcy and they understand things have to be done safely — adults being adults, looking out for each other, as it should be.{/span}{/span}
Gary and Karen McDonald volunteered at the festival selling T-shirts, bags and bracelets to raise funds for those that cannot help themselves — dogs and cats.
They were raising money for not only the Jackson County Dog Shelter but also for Saints on our Side Animal Rescue and The Big Fix of Jackson County.
The Dudleytown Conservation Club had a table set up at the festival, too, selling fish sandwiches. They are normally set up at the Jackson County Fair, which was canceled this summer.
Mike and Darlene Schepman volunteered at the conservation booth along with their son, Alex Schepman, and several other club members.
“We heard about this event, so we jumped at the chance to be a part of it,” Alex said. “We use the funding for different conservation projects like planting trees, food plots for wildlife and things like that.”
Club president Loren Wischmeier and secretary Bill Siefker were busy frying Alaskan pollock to sell at the booth.
“This is great since we weren’t able to be at the fair this year,” Siefker said. “Typically, we would make between $800 and $1,000 a night at the fair, so this really helps.”
Seymour residents Betty Greene and Ruby Niccum enjoyed the beautiful weather along with their fish sandwiches at one of the picnic tables.
Greene said she was totally disappointed when Seymour Oktoberfest was canceled, but this festival was a nice thing.
“It’s helping the organizations and the people, too,” Niccum said. “So we’re really glad to be able to do that.”