Winners of folklife festival announced

Mother Nature smiled on the wall-to-wall crowd meandering along the four blocks of North Main Street Saturday and Sunday during the 33rd annual Autumn Historic Folklife Festival, sending down the first rays of warm sunshine Hannibal had felt for several days.
“I’m very, very grateful to see the sun today, festival or no festival. ... I think it played a role in a great day of shoulder-to-shoulder people,” said Michael Gaines, executive director of the Hannibal Arts Council, sponsor of the festival, on Saturday. On Sunday the sun brought even warmer weather, with a high of 57 degrees.
Long lines of patient people waited for chicken and noodles, funnel cake, cheese soup, and many other taste treats, as the people visited nearly 100 booths featuring old-time arts and crafts, or paused to listen to groups of musicians playing on street corners.
On Sunday the RaluGerri group playing celtic and country music was joined by L.A. Suess to play a lively rendition of “Nail That Catfish to the Tree.”
By mid-afternoon Sunday, some food booths were selling out, including the turkey legs that many people were munching on Saturday afternoon. At 2 p.m. Sunday, the last serving of chicken and noodles was dished up. Others that sold out Sunday included bread pudding and cowboy stew.
Both new and familiar foods were selling well, according to the local non-for-profit groups at the festival.
A new group, the Embassy Women of Promise from  Embassy Christian Church in downtown Hannibal, was having brisk sales of its ham and beans with cornbread. “We are enjoying it,” Kyra Simpson said of working in the booth. “It was a good item in the cold.”
Some families were carrying home a mixture of food and art purchases, such as Debbie Powell of Hannibal. “We come down every year, and I try to buy a piece of artwork every year,” she said. This year her choice was a pen and ink drawing of the Eiffel Tower by John Stoeckley of Louisiana. Debbie’s daughter, Aurora, and Aurora’s friend, Ben Albee, were carrying foods, including bread from the Amish group at the farmer’s market. They also had two Philly cheesecake sandwiches that Debbie said she bought to support the Northeast Missouri Humane Society.

Wheat weaving named ‘best of show’

Each year “best of show” and other awards are presented after an out-of-town judge selects the winners. Ribbons are displayed on all the winning booths.
First place in the best of show contest went to the wheat weaving displayed by Mary Zeiger of New London. Zeiger has been in the Hannibal festival for 26 years, Gaines noted.
“I’m tickled pink,” said Zeiger after learning her work was chosen the winner. Describing herself as a “self-taught” wheat weaver, she explained she became interested in it nearly 30 years ago, when her sister-in-law, Laura Zeiger, was trying it. Mary got a book and began practicing.
Mary’s best selling wheat weavings are small crosses. She buys black-bearded wheat from as far away as North Dakota, and is having trouble finding bearded wheat, because farmers are growing the beardless variety. Mary also sells her tole painting, which is done on gourds and wood.
Second place was awarded for the fiber art made by Suzette Krummel of Quincy, Ill., who was making her local folklife festival debut.
The blacksmith, Ehrenberger Forge of Shelbyville, won third place in the best of show event.

Green beans recipe from Catherine Dillingham

The “best food” award went to the green beans, cranberry tea and chocolate cake served by the CRD Circle of Kings Daughters. Taking time out from serving the crowd, Tiffany Culp explained the green beans recipe - which includes ham and potatoes - is from “Grandma” Catherine Dillingham, for whom the CRD chapter is named.
The club’s chocolate cupcakes are topped with hot fudge sauce, and the cranberry tea is a special recipe including fruits and spices, Culp said. Proceeds from the food sales will be given to charities.
Each year the HAC president selects a “president’s purchase award,” and this year HAC President Jean Meyer chose pottery made by Joshua McCurdy of Canton. The pottery will be displayed at the HAC offices at 105 S. Main.
Children were as busy as their parents and grandparents, as they tried old-fashioned skills in their own area. Shelby Croghan of St. Louis was concentrating while writing with a quill pen for the first time. Nearby, children were hammering patterns with nails, making cloth headbands, making jewelry out of noodles and getting their faces painted.
Along with the many familiar booths that attract the crowd each year, some new ones were creating a lot of interest, such as Mike Krigbaum’s lawn furniture made with large wagon wheels. Krigbaum travels across several states to bring home the large wheels, which he then makes into benches, love seats and swings. He explained that being on wheels, they are easy to move to mow the lawn. Krigbaum noted his work is “the ideal Christmas gift for somebody who has everything.”
Another new exhibitor was Dennis Evans, who was busy making appointments for restoring old photos at his Copy Cat business in Monroe City.
Some people wore special attire to mingle with the crowd, such as Caleb Begley, whose father, the late Rev. Gerald Begley, had created his handmade buckskin outfit. Caleb said his coyote fur cap was rather warm. Caleb is in a church-based Frontiers Camping Fellowship (CFC) group with the Royal Rangers of the Assembly of God Church.

Len Moss among long-time volunteers

Gaines noted that many people helped the arts council serve drinks at its coffee booths. Among the most faithful is Len Moss, Gaines said, “He has probably been there all 33 years, and he was here both days.” A group of Hannibal-LaGrange College students helps each year, Gaines added, “and through word of mouth we got a lot of volunteers. We always appreciate our volunteers.”
Gaines couldn’t decide whether the crowd was more dense on Saturday or Sunday, reporting, “the flow of people was very consistent both days. With the weather, people were in a good mood and enjoying their day.”
After the festival Sunday night he reported, “I heard a lot of good feedback from artists and food booths and people attending. The arts council works very hard to do this event, and it’s great to get a thank you.”
The two-day festival offers a boost to Hannibal, Gaines added. “People were frequenting the local businesses and hotels. It’s a big economic boost to the community. I think every hotel room in Hannibal was full. I feel like the community involved in folklife is really proud of the event, and it’s a great feeling to know that the community has such ownership of this event. The arts council sponsors it, but the community owns it.”