Annual Pioneer Days Festival brings visitors to Cassopolis
Published 10:02 am Thursday, June 29, 2017
Good weather brought dozens out to the streets of downtown Cassopolis Saturday for the annual Pioneer Days Festival.
Local booths and trucks lined Broadway Street for the Main Street Committee sponsored event. A children’s area was also available featuring bounce houses and a rock climbing wall. After hours, a beer garden with live music was provided for attendees 21 and older.
While organizers saw the festival as a way to bring the community together and celebrate the village, vendors and booth sponsors saw the festival as an opportunity to sell products and boost recognition of their various businesses and organizations.
An old car covered in flowers and fresh produce served as the booth for Calvin Creek Farms, 68090 Calvin Center Road, Cassopolis. The crowd favorite attraction was aiming to raise community awareness and market the farm.
“We just opened up on Mother’s Day this year, so it’s a pretty new business,” said Shane Los, an employee of Calvin Creek Farms. “We’re out here getting exposure and selling some flowers. We are hoping to get more people out to the farm and let them know where it is.”
The few non-profit organizations had a similar goal when renting booth space at the festival.
Annabelle Harris ran a booth for Cass County Cancer Services, a volunteer organization that aims to help Cass County residents who have cancer and are in need of financial assistance.
“I’m basically just here to let Cassopolis know that we exist,” Harris said.
Harris said Cass County Cancer Services usually receives an uptick in volunteers and support after working a booth at a festival like Pioneer Days. At the time of the interview, Harris had already spoken to two visitors who expressed interest in volunteering with the group.
Art also got a chance to shine at the event, with several artists and crafters selling merchandise at the event.
Kim Hedges, a Cassopolis resident who makes birdhouses out of unique materials, was excited to share his creations with the community.
Hedges attended the event with his wife, Mary, who was selling handmade jewelry.
“This is the second or third festival I’ve done [in Cassopolis],” he said. “We always have a good time.”
While there were around a dozen vendors for community members to visit at the Pioneer Days festival, the event was smaller than expected due to a few vendors dropping out last minute, Main Street Committee President Ben Anderson said.
Despite this, the event was well attended and met the goals of the organizers, he said.
“A lot of people came out and the Main Street Committee is extremely excited about the responses we’ve gotten from people,” Anderson said. “I had to make change for vendors selling food a few different times, so I think they did well, which would indicate that we had a really good turnout.”
