Geauga Maple Festival

Well, you know spring is just around the corner when the Maple Festival arrives! Unfortunately, the last few years the festival has been plagued with bad weather, causing an unprecedented weather delay last year after the Easter storm that dumped almost 2 feet of snow on Chardon. This year's festival has been no exception - traditionally held the week after Easter, this was a very early Easter and the region got hit with another good snow storm causing the festival to be delayed for the second year in a row. City officials said the ground would be too wet to support the weight of the carnival rides and it would be a safety hazard. New date is the week of April 10.

Speaking of the Maple Festival, here's a fabulous old film of the 1953 festival that I found on YouTube:


Note the wonderful old cars, the 'four woodsmen' in their racoon-skin caps, the Geauga Theater (which was owned by my friend Laura Jevnikar's grandparents and looks pretty much the same today!), and the shots of Main Street. This film is listed as part of the 'Elmer Gerlock Film Project', but I can't find any more about Mr. Gerlock. Anway, a great old film celebrating our local tradition!