AN AREA TRADITION....STILL GOING STRONG
Thu, 04/21/2016 - 10:46
Eastland1
By Tim Turnbeaugh
Well, it's that time of year again, Spring, which only means one thing. This weekend, people from Eastland County and the surrounding areas will gather on the campus of Cisco College for the 43rd Annual Cisco Folklife Festival. This event is hosted each year by the Cisco Civic League and was started in 1973 at the National Guard Armory just below College Hill (where the Crawford Theatre is now).
After its tenure at the National Guard Armory, the festival grew so much, it was moved to Rockwell Bros. Lumberyard, where it remained until moving to its current location in 1993.
The Folklife Festival holds special memories for me, one particular was the Trail Ride Breakfast on Saturday at the old Lake Cisco Park. I knew it was festival time when my grandfather would wake me before the sun came up, we'd load up in his pickup from our farm near Scranton, and head out to the lake. After our meal, we'd stick around and visit with some of the horsemen until it was time to meet my grandmother in town for the big parade. After the parade, we'd all head up College Hill for a weekend of fun.
In 1994, I was introduced to the festival's signature dessert, Strawberry Shortcake. At first, I didn't want to try it but my grandfather insisted and after about two bites, I was hooked, now my Folklife Festival experience isn't complete unless I've had at least a taste of this delicious treat that's been a favorite of festival-goers young and old.
Although I don't live in Cisco anymore, I still make the trip back each year to enjoy this fun-filled event. Some traditions have come and gone such as the breakfast and parade and some are still being carried on such as the entertainment from area musicians, dancers, and school groups, vendors, who grace the campus with their plethora of goods, and who could forget those Civic League ladies in their trademark yellow gowns, who do everything from making corn husk dolls outside the library, baking cinnamon rolls in the Student Union Building, or simply running around making sure everything is running smooth. In recent years, new traditions, such as the Little Miss Folklife Pageant have come to pass, making folks eager to see what they'll come up with next.
The festival has evolved over the years but one thing that hasn't changed is that feeling of community pride, which takes us back to a simple time when we didn't rely on phones or computers to communicate with our neighbors. Hats off to the Cisco Civic League for giving us that last full weekend in April to leave our cares and worries at the door and come together to celebrate what life's really all about.