By SYLVIA BENAVIDEZ
Contributing Writer
Thunder and lightning couldn’t stop Albion’s 59th Festival of the Forks on Saturday; the weather just delayed the day’s festivities a bit.
Conditions on Friday couldn’t have been more different, with sunny skies overhead for the annual Festival of the Forks Cruise-In and Car Show, held this year in memory of Deb Myers. Myers, owner of Yesterday’s News in Albion, spent many years producing the classic car show. She died earlier this year, but her contribution was not forgotten. Media reports estimated that 100 cars and their owners lined up to share memories of Myers and display their beloved vehicles.
The Festival of the Forks returned for its 59th year on the third weekend of September. Last year’s event had plenty of sunshine, but this year rain continued throughout the morning. With quick rearrangements by festival organizers and cooperation from vendors and volunteers, the parade got underway at 1 p.m.
The Festival of the Forks inspires connections among vendors and attendees. Festival vendor Eva Menefee of Lansing, a member of the Oneida Nation in Canada, commented on her desire to share her culture. Albion City Councilwoman Vivian Davis invited her to the festival because she thought the business’s Anishinaabe roots were a perfect fit for the event.
Menefee makes her food-vending business, Anishnabe Meejim, a family affair along with her husband and son. They serve traditional Indigenous cuisine from their food truck and through a catering business. People lined up to sample a menu that included wild rice soup, buffalo chili over hot dogs, sassafras tea and unprocessed turkey sandwiches.
Their goal is to share their culture over a good meal. “In the past, we mostly went to Indian powwows and ethnic festivals for 40 years, but we decided we needed to allow non-Native communities to experience that Native Americans … have all kinds of food and cuisine that people can try. This is our first time at the Festival of the Forks. We had a really good day today, and hopefully we will come back.”
Menefee was amazed by the number of people who came out despite the earlier downpour. “I was shocked, the weather being the way it was. When we got here early this morning, there was nobody here. We were here yesterday as well, and booths that were here yesterday were not here. So, I was really worried. I knew the parade was coming, and it just picked up,” she said. “If someone would have told me this many people would have come out in Albion, Michigan, you could have pushed me over with a feather. This has been a really great event.”
In an interview, Davis said she knew Menefee through their connection to the Michigan Education Association. Both were in Denver a few months ago, where Davis learned about Menefee’s food truck and catering business. Davis later attended a festival planning meeting with Ramona Kidder, the chamber’s visitor and event specialist and the event organizer.
“One of the goals Ramona had was to have diversity in the vendors in terms of foods as well as arts and crafts,” Davis said. The festival’s original purpose was to celebrate heritage and culture, and Davis believes that is also how people learn about Michigan’s Native history.
As for the event’s success, Davis, a former Albion High School counselor, said many former students approached her. “They were having a good time. The people that I talked to were very pleased,” she said.
She said former students were pleased to see people caring about the community again and to see renovations underway. “Some of my former students came from Massachusetts, Florida and Georgia. They were from all over the United States and came specifically for the festival and the class reunion to see old friends.”
One former student told her he didn’t mind driving around street construction because it meant progress for Albion.
“The rain was minor, as long as the weather was safe, so I think the importance of the day outweighs the inconvenience of a few drops of rain,” said Davis.
