Greetings, fellow bloggers! What follows is the column I wrote for the Aug. 29 edition of the NSC. If any of you have some positive, creative ideas to share about what we could do to make this event better, please feel free to comment.

Ah, yes … that time is upon us here in Bloomfield. The community's fall festival is being planned, and as president of the sponsoring organization, I find myself in the thick of everything involved.

The event will return to its traditional first weekend in October this year, with its theme being "Making a Difference." Grand marshals for the parade will be Brent Cooper and Debbie Drew of Sundog Animal Sanctuary at Bloomfield, which celebrates it fifth anniversary later that month. Word has it, the Mystery Machine may be leading off the parade.

Both Bloomfield bands are on board for the parade, which will start Friday at 5:30 p.m. Bands from Holcomb and Dexter have contacted me about participating, but with this big issue on my mind for weeks, I can't seem to find the phone numbers!

Troy Bollinger, middle school principal and a Bloomfield Lion, suggested the event be "set in stone" for upcoming years, so the district would know to adjust schedules around it. Superintendent Dr. Sheila Perry has assured me that not only is this date free on the school calendar, it will be free from now on so school participation will not be in question in the future. Thanks, Lion Troy and Super Doc! And thanks to Eric Boles and Dr. Kelly Renfroe for lending their support to this community event.

We made every effort to have MJR Amusements return this year, which included originally setting the event for Oct. 19 and 20. After repeated phone calls and leaving messages with people who answered and on an answering machine, no one from the company got back to me regarding a contract. Remembering last year, I and the other Lions felt that a contract was necessary before we could commit to the later date. And I found out that out-of-town sporting events had been scheduled for both high school volleyball and middle school basketball on that Friday.

Thus, the decision was made. Plans are to park a flat-bed trailer in front of the Buck Building to serve as a stage for the events. Following the parade, the Bloomfield Women's Club will hold its Jr. Miss and Miss Bloomfield Pageants.

I have a couple of ideas (and we all know how dangerous that can be) about what else we could do on Friday evening. We could hold the community auction then, when the weather (hopefully) will be cooler. Folks might stick around after the parade if there were something to draw them here. And in that same vein, a community talent showcase featuring our many gifted citizens would be very enjoyable. Maybe church groups could work up several songs, or teen talent could be the focus. The key here is community involvement.

At the recent Puxico Homecoming, I learned that Chuck Stewart has a kiddie tractor pull rig that is available for our event on Oct. 6. Hopefully, tricycle races can make a comeback, too.

Jean Rice at Golden LivingCenter assured me the kiddie parade is also a go, and the Fall Festival Pageants will be held Saturday as well.

Junior Merick was all set to resume his wonderful rides to the historic Miller House for this year with his new, larger stagecoach. There have been some technical problems; however, I'm told Junior hopes to be able to get them fixed in time to participate.

Several past vendors have already indicated they want to be included this year. Hopefully more will contact me in the coming weeks. (Hint, hint …)

While doing research for the feature articles in this issue, I came across an account of the first Bloomfield Homecoming, held In October 1940. No doubt the report would fill an entire page of a modern newspaper -- and that's without pictures. All the rural schools had competitions, with ribbons and prize money awarded. Old-timers' contests were held for the local couple with the longest marriage, father with the most children present, family with the highest number of combined ages, family with the most generations present and longest local resident. In each case, the prize was a silver dollar provided by a local bank. A public wedding was held Saturday night with a reported 5,000 in attendance. Can you imagine that many people around the courthouse?

I'm sure there are some residents who can -- and do -- remember when the fall festival was a highlight of the year. Let's work to make it so again.