The Covid-19 Pandemic really kicked the snot out of Vankleek Hill’s festival season… you know, along with killing millions and whatnot.

But slowly, at least for those of us who survived, Vankleek Hill’s Festivals are coming back.

The last time I took photos of this Event was waaaaay back in the Before Time of 2019 [link]. The FoodFest, then in its eighth-year, was at the height of its success. There were close to seventy food vendors and artisans packed into Vankleek Hill’s downtown area. There were also a classic car show (for some reason), live music, Zumba and Flamenco dancing… and the street itself was stuffed with thousands of visitors.

This year was not like that. It reminded me of one of the first FoodFest’s… there were maybe six food vendors, one band, about a dozen artisans and one art exhibit. There were fewer than a thousand people who attended, but that was to be expected. Everything stopped for two or three years. It’ll take time for the word to get back out.

Basically this year was a test, to see if there was still any interest. And having close to a thousand people wandering around Main Street was, in my opinion, a solid B+.

…anyway. The reason I’m so late posting this (it actually happened on 09/10/23) is the agreement I have with The Review (our local paper of record) [link]… I take photos of Events for them, they pay me enough so my kids can have milk for the month, then I have to wait two weeks before publishing them here or on Facebook.

The paper did run a few on their Facebook page, then four or five inside the paper… including the Front Page. Yay for me.

…anywho, just click on an image to get the carousel going. Or not, no pressure.

–> ps: the woman in the red hat is Samme Putzel [link], the primary organizer behind most of our town-wide Events.