With over 50 vendor booths set up, carnival rides and tons of different events happening during the three-day festival there was a lot going on.

Event planner Ken Roberts was pleased with the attendance.

“The crowd was great this year. There were a lot more people out there this year than last,” said Roberts. “We are already looking at what we can do to improve next years festival.”

Friday night’s festival was a huge success reported Roberts.

“The loud car stereo was such a success that Michael Huff with MD Audio is looking at making it a sanctioned national event next year. That way we can draw the crowd from other states,” said Roberts. “The same for the Burn Out Contest. We literally had hundreds of people there watching this thing and people have already called about next year’s event.”

Moving the Freedom Fest Beauty Pageant out side drew a bigger crowd and more contestants than last year.

“Amy Cave, who was in charge of the pageant, was really pleased with the turnout,” said Roberts. “She has already begun to consider a few things to do for next year to make that event bigger. We may change the day to Friday night because it is cooler and by crowning the winner on Friday it will allow her to participate in more events that take place during the weekend.”

The karate tournament, which was held in the gymnasium of the middle school, raised over $800 for two local groups. The money raised will go to the Army Emergency Relief Fund and to fund a martial arts team. Event organizer Kim Stevenson said it was a huge success and she is considering a few changes for next year.

The American Legion Post 81 supplied flags for the flagpoles at the middle school.

Roberts said he was a little disappointed with the Sunday event and the crowd during the day Saturday but was pleased with the turnout for the car and bike shows.

“We almost ran out of places to park the cars we had so many entered,” said Roberts. “There were over 130 cars and bikes out there.”

One of the places that Roberts said he is taking a hard look at for next year was the carnival rides.

“We have already made a few contacts for next year hoping to find a different carnival,” said Roberts. “Our goal is to find something more affordable for the families.”

The fireworks display that took place late Saturday night was typically the final event of the festival but this year the festivities continued into Sunday afternoon with the Sunday Social.

With next years festival more than 350 days away the festival committee is wasting no time planning for next year.

“This year’s event was a huge success but we don’t want to stop there,” said Roberts. “Our ultimate goal to provide a weekend full of fun and free things for our community and we will continue to look at what went well and what needs improvement.”