The following story is by Bill Pickett:
Tens of thousands of people will be traveling the roads of Parke County Indiana for this year’s Parke County Covered Bridge Festival. The festival runs from (today) Friday, October 11th, through Sunday, October 20th. Bill Pickett has more.
Jenn Kersey runs a candle shop on the Rockville square. She looks forward to the festival each year…
{AUDIO: “Oh, I love it! I grew-up here so I’ve been going since I was a little girl. Obviously now that I’m a business owner it means so much to all of the businesses that are here year round. It’s a big boost for us for the rest of the year, but it’s also nice to see all the vendors that come in and meeting them as well.”}
Kersey was asked whether she had any advice for people who might want to avoid expected big crowds…
{AUDIO: “I think the first Friday and Saturday are the busiest. It does slow down a little bit – kind of thin out – during the week, at least here. I can only speak to what I see here on the square (in Rockville). It thins out a little bit through the week, so if you’re looking for something a little less crowded, then I would say hit the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. It starts to pick back up again on Thursday, and then again heavy on Friday and Saturday, and then lightens up a little the last Sunday (October 20th).”
T.J. Terrell owns Bloomfields which is also on the square in Rockville. He heads Rockville’s downtown business organization and noted something special about the 18 businesses there….
{AUDIO: “Every building – with the exception of one – is filled with something. That’s kind of unheard of for a small town. So it’s impressive and something to be proud of.”}
Terrell is also proud of the way people come together to help host the annual Parke County Covered Bridge Festival. “It’s a people driven event put on by driven people,’’ said Terrell.
Visitors to Parke County will find food, flea markets and other attractions and vendors in towns throughout the county.
Visitors can drive marked routes themselves to see Parke County’s 31 covered bridges, or else take one of the guided bus tours which depart from the downtown square in Rockville.
For more information visit https://www.coveredbridges.com.
