Rainy Depot Days

Published 11:46 am Wednesday, September 25, 2013

: Depot Days Festival attendees fill Main Street in Hartselle Saturday afternoon after rain clouds moved out and sunshine moved in. | Randy Garrison

A 70 percent chance of rain for Saturday was right on target and Hartselle’s Depot Days Festival was caught slap dab in the middle of it.

“The streets were wet at 4 a.m. when we arrived to put up barricades and traffic signs,” said Chris Orr, an employee of Hartselle’s Public Works Department. “The rain got a lot harder in a hurry and they were covered by sheets of water when vendors began arriving to set up around 6 a.m.

“Some of our vendors didn’t show up because of the rain,”

said Angela Hale, a spokesperson for Depot Days sponsor Hartselle Area Chamber of Commerce. “Others left because they thought it was going to rain all day.” Fortunately, the rain stopped, the sun came out and those those who stayed had a pretty good day.”

The rain also put a damper on some early morning events.

The 5K run at Quail Creek Golf Resort attracted only nine runners, compared to a normal field of over 150. However, the first annual half marathon, sponsored by Hartselle Kiwanis Club, had 157 participants.

The first annual Mutt Strut, a scheduled 9 a.m. event, was cancelled and will be rescheduled in October,

The Antique car and tractor shows also took a hit from the rain., Only one tractor was in position on South Sparkman Street at 10 a.m. and only 15 cars had checked in at the First UMC parking lots at the same time.

The children’s play area was also idle until the rain let up around 10:30 a.m., and the inflatables didn’t show up.

“Things got a lot better when the rain stopped and the sun came out around noon,” said Hale. “The sidewalks and streets were filled with people for the remainder of the day. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and we didn’t receive any complaints from our vendors so they must’ve had a pretty good day.”