Holmes County packed with festivals, art and parades Sept. 20

For people who live in Holmes County, Saturday, Sept. 20 may have marked a weekend of hectic volume.

For visitors who cherish every excuse to visit Amish Country, the day was filled with opportunities.

Oftentimes weekends in Holmes County are filled with activity, but it pales in comparison with what took place on this particular Saturday, when a host of events littered the entire day.

The list of activities included the highly attended Holmes County Home Auction near Holmesville, the Historic Downtown Millersburg Arts Festival and a visit from the Plein Air Society art group, which saw four dozen painters vying for top prizes.

"We had visitors from all over the state," Historic Downtown Millersburg Executive Director Taylor Sigler said. "It was incredible."

Heading west, the inaugural Mohican Bigfoot Festival brought in droves of people to discuss the sneaky forest dweller.

On the eastern end, art lovers were invited to enjoy Museum Day Live at David Warther Museum near Walnut Creek, and the annual Winesburg Fall Gathering united with the Winesburg Reunion, which happens every five years, drawing plenty of people to experience some small-town Americana.

Then there was the nearly border-to-border journey of the Parade of Lights Truck Show, which encamped at Harvest Ridge for much of the day prior to hitting the road and snaking along a path from Millersburg through Berlin, Mt. Hope and Kidron, an event that invited a throng of fans to encamp roadside and await the honking truck drivers on their trek.

With such an incredible lineup, it was no surprise every nook and cranny of Holmes County was filled with visitors eager to enjoy one or more of the day’s offerings.

“These types of days remind us of how fortunate we are to live and work and raise a family in this county,” said Tiffany Gerber, Holmes County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau executive director. “With all of this going on, it was pretty wild.”

Gerber went on to talk about how a day with so much variety boosts the county’s economic outlook and its visibility with people outside the area.

“People who have come to see us know what a great destination Holmes County is,” Gerber said. “But sometimes it can fall into that ‘been there, done that’ thinking. But when we have these special events, it’s a nudge to come back, regardless of which part of the county it’s in.”

On this particular day, that nudge led to just about every inch of the county.

“It’s a way for us to reinvite people to Holmes County and for them to refamiliarize themselves to Amish Country,” Gerber said. “These are all events that promote special interests, and they are eye-catching.”

Gerber said much of the traffic at these events comes from outside the county and even from lands far away.

“We are seeing a lot of international visitors,” Gerber said. “And it’s not just a certain country or continent; it’s all over the world. And we have people finding us and making a decision to come and visit, and these events are an important part of inviting them here.”

The Holmes County Commissioners were making the rounds, and Commissioner Joe Miller said the food at the Fall Gathering is always a deciding factor for his attendance.

Commissioner Dave Hall said the County Home was packed with people eager to support its effort to care for its residents.

“These types of weekends are huge for our country,” Miller said. “Our sales tax is up again this year, and that’s amazing.”

Miller said all the events of the day are due to one thing: the volunteers who make each event worthy of drawing people from far away or giving locals something special to remember.

Hall said the events also are done for great causes that enhance the quality of life for many in the county.

“I asked a couple of (event organizers) when they start planning for next year’s event, and they said tomorrow,” Hall said.

That is the type of community commitment that drives days like this.

“Things like this happen in Holmes County where they don’t happen in other counties,” Hall said. “It took me forever to get back home.”

That same sentiment may have been shared by many, but chances are those who chose Holmes County as a destination Sept. 20 were more than happy to be part of a very special day.