The West Liberty Children’s Festival celebrated it’s 24th year on Saturday, Sept. 11, with what’s being termed as one of the best attended festivals of all time, according to Stephanie Vallez and Monica Leo, who chaired the event.
Highlighted by performances of Eulenspiegel Puppet Theatre and Midwest puppet affiliates, the one-day festival went “really well,” according to Vallez. “The crowd was bigger than ever! The food was delicious and the kids were clearly having a blast,” she said after the event.
Next year brings new challenges for organizers of the festival.
“It's the 25th Children's Festival! The first one was in 1997 and we've only skipped one, in 2020. It's definitely special, but we're not sure how we're going to celebrate that yet,” said Vallez. She said the COVID-19 pandemic has brought a lot of new challenges to the festival, including cancelling the entire event in 2020. But 2022 hopes to bring to West Liberty regional Great Plains Puppetry Festival, which typically draws about 100 puppeteers from all over the country and the world. Three days of shows, workshops, slams, and crazy puppet fun is anticipated for that event.
She said many attractions will return next year for sure including the sandbox, which was sponsored by Jason and Lisa Wertzbaugher, brought back after a short absence. She said the sandbox was a big hit with the youngsters and Vallex said she’d “love to see the bubbles come back but I also want to bring something new to the festival next year. We've got a whole year to think of something special!”
She praised the puppet shows performers, one which failed to arrive due to vehicle problems. “We had a lot of hiccups in our planning stages, but the puppeteers were amazingly talented and we're very grateful for the quality entertainment they provided,” Vallez said.
As for possible improvements, the committee did talk about improving the parking situation. “There were make shift parking lots all over town and local traffic was pretty congested. It's a sign of a great festival, but next year I'd like to do more to create more accessible parking for everyone,” she said.
Vallez thought the crowd this year “seemed much bigger than usual,” noting there were a lot of people from nearby towns and even some very far away towns. “I hope they come back next year and bring all their friends and relations,” she said.
“Festivals like this draw people into our community,” Vallez said. “Having a good experience here brings them back throughout the year while they enjoy our shops and restaurants. It also solidifies our reputation as an inclusive community that welcomes strangers and turns them into friends.”
Vallez said the success of this year's festival “has really fired me up for planning next year.”
“This festival just seems to get bigger every year and we are ready for that challenge. Every year, we hear positive reports from attendees and community members and our goal is to continue to dazzle them all,” she said.
She said it takes a village to raise a child. “The West Liberty Children's Festival is about celebrating our community and our beautiful children. It works because we're all in it together, and I'm so grateful to share this experience with all of you!”