Burn Ban in Effect. All outdoor burning is prohibited in Franklin County.
I walked through the door of the old farmhouse today, absolutely exhausted. The last handful of days have been an incredible rush from one event to the next, all while watching a growing stack of photos and videos pile up for editing following a busy CountryFest weekend. I even joked with my wife that I probably shouldn't plan anything for the week leading up to CountryFest next year!
The last few days have been packed. I attended an important meeting with the Industrial Foundation, with more to share on that later this week, followed by a good, straightforward meeting with the Rotary Club. Then it was off to Emory on Friday night to capture the Mount Vernon Tigers taking on the Rains Wildcats.
Saturday morning started bright and early with a pancake breakfast with my kids, courtesy of the Rotary Club. Thank you to everyone who helped put that together. The kids thoroughly enjoyed it!
From there, it was time to switch gears and capture the excitement of CountryFest. Between the traditional syrup-making demonstration by the Franklin County Historical Association, the stew contest, and the Tae Kwon Do performances in front of the courthouse, there was certainly no shortage of things to see and photograph. It was a fun-packed Saturday morning, and although the wind made its presence known, I thought the weather was wonderful!
After wrapping up at CountryFest, it was time to drop off the kids and pick up a few more pieces of video equipment before heading out to record the entire Miss Mount Vernon Pageant. More on that to come as well! I'm especially grateful to my former student, Leven Williams, for stepping in to help as my videographer. Having an extra set of hands behind the camera made a tremendous difference. And if I had to guess, I probably have well over 1,000 photos from the pageant alone waiting to be sorted and edited!
Most Saturdays are already busy enough as I put the finishing touches on stories for The Sunday Thread, but boy, this one was packed!
I initially considered breaking this weekend's recap into two separate articles. However, with so much happening and plenty of additional information still to come, I decided to do something a little different this week. Rather than rush through everything, I wanted to give you a visual sneak peek at some of the moments I captured over the past few days.
In the coming week, you can look forward to a more complete CountryFest recap, a closer look at the newly crowned Miss Mount Vernon Pageant royalty, and a follow-up on the traditional syrup-making demonstration with Dan Hoke and his team from the Franklin County Historical Association. There are some wonderful stories and photographs to share, and I look forward to bringing those to you.
And lastly, to all the amazing members of our Mighty Tiger Band, I haven't forgotten about you! I've got plenty more photos from the past two football games that I still need to share. Be on the lookout for those as well!
For now, here are some of my favorite shots from the second half of this incredibly busy week. I hope you enjoy this little glimpse into the people, traditions, and celebrations that make our community such a special place.
Be sure to share your favorites with family and friends, and keep an eye out for more stories and photos throughout the week!
