Festival Fun

Crowd enjoys WonderFall Oktoberfest

By ANGIE ALVARADO

Managing Editor

A simple stroll through downtown Palestine proved challenging Saturday as hundreds of people filled the streets and sidewalks during the WonderFall Oktoberfest celebration.

The morning started out a little chilly for the parade but quickly warmed up as residents and visitors alike were treated on this Halloween to a spectacular Saturday to soak in the sunshine and myriad of festival attractions.

Many festival attendees donned costumes — some scary, others not.

Arts and craft booths and vendors took over the streets with their wares offering everything from cowboy hats and “cowgirl bling” to handmade wooden “pop” guns.

From sunglasses to jewelry, to blankets to Build-A-Bear booths, there was something for every age to enjoy. The wooden roses proved popular as did the Beanie Babies and rhinestone studded handbags. Some booths offered handmade soap and specialty candles, others sold crunchy peanut brittle and homemade hot sauce.

Just as popular as the craft booths were the food vendors as people lined up to get their hands on a smoked turkey leg, handbattered corn dog, funnel cake, sausage on a stick, nachos and curly fries. Hand-squeezed lemonade and rootbeer floats went just as fast.

“We’re having a great time,” Ashlee Henderson of Palestine said as she escorted her two girls, 4-year-old Chloe and 2-year-old Kaylee. “They loved the parade.”

Jessica Landers of Palestine said the festival was a good opportunity to see and catch up with many friends.

“It’s nice, it always is. It’s good to see everybody,” she said. “It’s like a family reunion. You see people you don’t normally see every day.”

Landers and her husband Walter brought their five children to the festival.

“They’re having a good time,” she smiled.

Saturday’s festival drew a record crowd of vendors some from as far away as Arizona.

Steve and Lynn Ferreiras, of Bullhead City, Ariz., said they learned about Palestine’s WonderFall OktoberFest online.

“We saw it on the Internet,” said Steve Ferreira, owner of The Nut House which specializes in German-style cinnamon roasted nuts, pecans, cashews, almonds and peanuts. His booth, positioned near the Palestine Area Chamber of Commerce office, was a popular attraction Saturday.

“We take raw nuts and roast them in our machine with no oil or butter,” Ferreira explained as the roasting machine behind him kept turning out fresh nuts.

As he and his partner passed out samples of the tasty treats, people flocked to their booth to buy the specialty nuts and popcorn.

In addition to cinnamon and chocolate covered almonds, peanuts, cashews, cranberries and more, The Nut House also featured nine varieties of popcorn including butter toffee, rootbeer, apple, banana, banana strawberry and raspberry.

“This is a great festival. It’s a nice town with friendly people,” Ferreira said.

The Ferreira have owned The Nut House for six years and usually travel the country attending different festivals and events.

“We definitely will be back next year,” Ferreira said about his plans to return to Palestine.

In Old Town Palestine, a crowd watched as Mike Harris worked on a solar etching of a scarecrow Saturday afternoon.

Harris, of Palestine and formerly of West Texas, said he learned the pyrographics, or solar etching, art form in high school art class. He uses the magnifying medium technique to enhance his images of Southwestern art.

“I can do portraits too,” Harris said. For portraits he uses a photo of someone and turns it into his own artwork.

Harris starts his pieces with a sketch and then transfers the image to wood. He applies wood stain and occasionally acrylic paint to enhance the image until it reaches the desired effect. After that, he starts to etch the image.

In order to work on solar etching, Harris works outside in full sunlight. He uses three different sizes of high-quality magnifying glasses to burn along the lines of the image he’s working on.

Harris said he has to keep the magnifying glass moving otherwise the wood he’s working on can catch fire if he stays in one place too long.

In addition to solar etching, Harris also uses his artistic ability to sandblast images into boulders and large rocks.