A line of cars had formed down Chadwick Lane by 10 a.m. on Saturday as Auburn community members waited to find parking in Kiesel Park for the 17th annual Auburn CityFest.
As the cars were led by traffic directors and packed in the grass field next to the park, a seemingly endless number of dog owners and parents with their children filtered through the trees toward Kiesel Park’s entertainment pavilion, where The WannaBeatles could be heard playing classic Beatles hits like “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” and “Day Tripper” a football field away.
Tents lined the pathways leading away from the pavilion, offering as diverse a selection of goods as there were people there to buy them.
Arts and crafts vendors sold pottery, hand-painted wall décor, jewelry and official Auburn CityFest T-shirts.
There were food stands of all kinds, from Mexican-American cuisine to Greek gyros, and the smell of funnel cakes and kettle corn permeated the humid air as lines of men, women and children waited, perspiring, in the 85-degree heat for a chance to get a smoothie.
Carson Williford said he enjoyed watching The WannaBeatles as well as the smells from all of the food vendors near the pavilion.
“The WannaBeatles sounded pretty good,” Williford said. “They were kooky, and I think targeted at an older audience, but it was nice to listen to them and eat Greek food as well.”
Auburn resident Sarah Stevenson said her favorite food there was a gyro she got from the Greek Corner stand and a red velvet cheesecake cupcake she got from JoZetti’s Cupcakes.
Paths and walkways were highlighted by balloons bouncing along above the multicolor hair-sprayed heads of face-painted children, whose numbers only increased towards the field containing the Children’s Imagination Station.
Past the owls, vultures and hawks of the Southeastern Raptor Center and over a small bridge was the wide open field where a rock wall and inflatable bounce houses, slides and obstacle courses towered above the crowds of attendees.
In the center of the field was a stage surrounded by filled metal bleachers where featured entertainers like Lew-E the Clown, who juggled balls and bowling pins; comedic juggler Adam Lowe, who swallowed fire and juggled a knife, a Garden Weasel and a rubber chicken and Steve Trash, an eco-friendly magician and comedian.
Other family-friendly features of the CityFest included Jubilee Farm’s live pony carousel, the turtles, geckos and snakes of the Kreher Preserve and Nature Center and appearances from storm troopers and Mandalorians from the beloved Star Wars franchise.
“My favorite part was just looking around at all of the people,” Stevenson said. “I like how a bunch of different parts of the community had tents set up and it was fun seeing all of the kids enjoying themselves.”
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