Summerfest celebrates 35 years

DENTON — The 35th annual Summerfest drew thousands for a kaleidoscope of family fun Aug. 16 and 17.

This year’s event was called Storybook Summerfest. There were lots of booths. Some served Ridgely Fire Department’s famous pork parfait, and others gave out information on community services like CASA of Caroline.

There were three stages cranking out live music from singer-songwriters, Mike Elzy’s students, blue grass artists and funk band G Method. The belly dancing crew of Sammati Dance was even seen dancing with swords balanced on the their heads.

Keith Shaffer, in his best radio announcer voice, called people together for the opening ceremony Friday evening.

“Ladies and gentlemen welcome to Summerfest. In preparation for the opening ceremony in front of the Caroline County Courthouse. Please make way for one of Caroline County’s finest marching bands- The North Caroline High School Marching Band of Blue,” Shaffer said.

The blue river of high school students with flutes and tubas and snare drums stopped in front of the courthouse. They played the Star Spangled Banner. Then, Mayor Abby McNinch got on the courthouse steps and declared the 2024 Summerfest officially open.

Later after the kids played their song and the color guard raised the flag. Frank Bartz, a Caroline County commissioner, said, “I like seeing all the people from the county in all different towns come together and enjoy themselves and enjoy summer. This is a great collaboration between The Arts Council, County, town and Parks and Recreation.”

Jaimie Beechey, director of Caroline Recreation and Parks said, “(Summerfest) was started by the town of Denton and Caroline County in 1989. So this is the 35th year. Logistics-wise, it is such a well-oiled machine between the town, who have a lot of people who have been there a long time, and Recreation and Parks and the county. There are so many people that have been picking this up, that logistically it is just a little tweaking. What is hard is how much money we need to raise to make this happen.”

Summerfest leans heavily on its generous local sponsors to fund the many activities offered each year. The event typically draws between 5,000 and 8,000 visitors, Beechey said.

Hallie Readores, a program specialist, had on a mad hatter’s black hat with playing cards in the sash around the brim. She took the year’s literary theme and ran with it to Alice’s Wonderland. She ran a fun, tunnel-like attraction that people had to crawl in to get inside.

“We wanted to bring Alice In Wonderland to life,” she said. “Once you go down the rabbit hole, like the classic story, you decorate a mad hatter’s hat. Tomorrow we will have a little tea party surprise. Everyone seems to be loving it.”