Weenies set to run
Pups’ race heralds the opening of the 41st Germantown Festival
Red-topped tents popped up on the grounds of Germantown’s Civic Club Complex this week in preparation for a weekend festival known for its pageant of Dachshunds dressed in buns.
In its 41st year, the Germantown Festival will kick off Saturday in conjunction with the grand opening of nearby Bobby Lanier Farm Park.
The free festival in Morgan Woods and C.O. Franklin Park along Poplar Pike opens at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, rain or shine, and ends at 6 p.m. Sunday.
The popular “Running of the Weenies” race begins at 2:30 p.m. Saturday after the dogs costume contest.
“Hot dogs are the most common, but I’ve seen firetrucks, pirate ships, brides and grooms,” said Cory Gillmore with the Germantown Animal Shelter. “Name it and you’ll see it.”
More than 70 dogs have been registered for the race, which is sponsored by the shelter, Gillmore said.
A new event at the festival is the “Look What I Can Do” contest that takes place Saturday morning. Children ages 10-15 are asked to show judges what makes them unique.
“I don’t care if you come in with the biggest okra pod in town or say you can smile longer than anybody else,” said festival coordinator Melba Fristick. “It’s just a fun thing.”
Nearly 400 local and regional artists and craftsmen will set up booths for their wares, and live entertainment, a food court and car exhibit will fill out the grounds.
“These are things you won’t see at the Flea Market,” Fristick said.
Festival goers interested in the city’s newest park are asked to follow a marked, storybook trail from the east side of the grounds to Farm Park.
Saturday’s schedule at Farm Park includes cooking demonstrations, garden talks, storybook walks, visiting farm animals, live bluegrass music jams, local artisans, garden tours and “farm to table” food vendors.
Some of the local artisan demonstrations include a blacksmith making horseshoes, a potter with a pot- tery wheel, soap making, corn grinding and quilting.
The Memphis City Schools Director of Food Services, Tony Geraci, will speak, as well as local authors Deanna Caswell and Daisy Siskins of “Little House in the Suburbs: Backyard Farming and Home Skills for SelfSufficient Living.”
A farm-style picnic and music from local church choirs has been planned for Sunday at Farm Park. The afternoon includes a horseshoe tournament, farm games and homemade ice cream.
Additional public access to the park is shared by the Cloyes Soccer Fields entrance off Stout Road on the west side of Germantown Elementary School, 2740 Cross Country.
Free parking lots for the festival are at Union University, 2745 Hacks Cross Road, and at the German- town Performing Arts Centre at Exeter and Neshoba Road. Shuttles to the festival will be provided.
In addition, paid parking is available in church and school lots near the festival grounds.