We've started an annual tradition the first weekend in October. We attend Wool Fest with friends from church.


Wool Fest celebrates all things wool with sheep shearing and dog herding exhibits, spinners making yarn, and knitters weaving fabric. The many other country festival activities include performances by cloggers and harmonica players, homemade sorghum and root beer, deep fried everything, and an old fashioned blacksmith.

The kids love the petting zoo . . .

. . . and the pony rides . . .
. . . and the food . . .

. . . and the unusual freedom to get into stuff.
We really enjoy this country adventure, but seem to endure some mishap every year that makes us rethink attending next year. Wool Fest is in Falmoth , KY, just over an hour from the Cincy area. But, because it is literally located in the "holler," the road system is not designed to handle the amount of traffic this popular event attracts. Last year we waited about 40 minutes to get into the parking field. Fortunately we'd packed plenty of snacks because we were still sitting on the road at lunch time.

This year we wisely decided to leave earlier and hopefully beat the rush. It worked and we had relatively no wait to get in and park. In fact, my accidental shortcut (discovered with a wrong turn that got me there anyway) had us arriving so early that we were one of the first ones there and guided to park in the far side of the field. After our fun-filled day, we loaded back into the car ready to leave and made our way into a line of cars that was not moving.

I had not expected this delay but quickly figured out the problem. It's like when you park at the top of the parking garage at a downtown sporting event or concert. The bottom levels have to clear out before the top levels get to leave. Since I'd arrived so early and parked in the back of the lot, I'd have to wait for the front to clear before I could leave. So I accepted that we'd be waiting a few minutes and we pulled out the treats we'd purchased to take home (rock candy for the boys and cinnamon roasted almonds for me - yum!).

After a half hour my acceptance had turned to frustration as we still hadn't moved. I could see the cars in the front of the field moving, but we never got our chance to go. Does anybody already know the reason? Let me tell you: The difference between this situation and that of a downtown sporting event is the finishing time. The downtown event ends at a certain time and everyone leaves. This festival was ongoing, so people were staggered leaving and the front of the parking field never cleared. (And I suspect some from the back of the field were getting through and driving around to the front.)

We sat there for an hour (precisely 53 minutes, not that I was counting) before one of the poor parking volunteers stationed in the back convinced the volunteers in the front to hold their rows and let those of us in the back drive straight through. I don't know how they handled the situation the rest of the day, but I sure hope they figured out a solution.

Now I'm stuck with the quandry of what to do next year. If I arrive later I'll have to wait to get in. If I arrive earlier I'll have to wait to get out. Any creative suggestions?