By Genine Hopkins
This year it seems like the Harrison Street Fair was bigger than it has ever been, with more activities, talent, and fun for kids of all ages. The musical talent lineup was amazing and got people up dancing. The “Jaws of Life” demonstration was awe inspiring. The number of vendors was astronomical. Food vendors? A vast array of tastes were offered including Harrison’s own Longer Table and Hang’s Chinese. The suds in the Foam Pit kept kids having “clean” fun. The cars, the Jeeps, it was all just so much fun that it nearly overfilled the two days of the fair.
Harrison had many guests from around the State of Michigan, some who had cabins and some just visiting friends, choosing the weekend of the street fair for their time to spend here.
Hayden Hermen, who is from Lansing, was staying at her family cabin on Bertha Lake with her cousin, Presley Potter, from West Bloomfield, whose family owns the cabin next door. Both were having loads of fun visiting vendors and shopping.
Harrison’s St. Athanasius Church offered water to the many, many pets whose “parents” brought them to enjoy some exercise. Among the canines taking advantage of the free water on such a hot day was Tobi and Mori, to Kai Ken dogs from the Skeels area.
Kids of all ages were enamored with the Foam Pit, going back multiple times to take advantage of the clean fun there. Coming from the stretch of Houghton Lake to Mount Pleasant were Kai and Logan Earl from Prudenville, and Angelina Reniff, from Mount Pleasant. Angelina enjoyed getting suds up and then walking around the fair area, feeling a bit cooler with the sun beating down.
Although the day did start out overcast, with a few sprinkles, most of the moisture had moved out of the area by noon, and although it was hot – it’s August – it was not nearly as hot as last year, allowing for little breaks when the sun would hide behind some clouds.
The line of Jeeps from the Jeep the Budd parade were lined up on Saturday, and the Harrison Fire Department was on hand to talk to the kids as well as perform two demonstrations of how the Jaws of Life are used to extract people from bad auto accidents. It was truly breathtaking to watch, with most people hoping they would never need to have the jaws used but glad this was available just in case.
