The threat of bad weather kept some people away from the Hillsboro Homecoming Festival on May 16, but thousands came out the next day, when most of the festivities were held, said Mandy Alley, event organizer and marketing coordinator for the Greater Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce.
“(The festival) went great,” she said. “Actually, I would say it’s one of the smoothest years we’ve had in some time.”
Alley said attendance was fabulous on May 17, with most activities that day taking place in the Jefferson County Courthouse Square.
“We couldn’t have gotten better weather, and our crowd was probably the largest we’ve had since the year after COVID,” she said. “The ticket line for the carnival was unreal. It was so long. Even chamber board members had to jump in and help sell our (carnival ride armbands).”
Alley said nearly all the food vendors sold out of their products.
“Some of them even went and got more food, and then still sold out,” she said. “The food vendors were very happy. I had zero complaints, so I think it was a perfect weekend.”
Alley said the carnival area was packed with families.
She did not have an estimate of the crowd size but said it was comparable to 2021 when about 4,500 attended the two-day event.
Alley was grateful severe storms didn’t hit Hillsboro on May 16 like they did in St. Louis.
“We didn’t get much more than strong winds and some rain, and it cleared out pretty quick and we hurried up and scurried along and set up,” she said. “The rest of the weekend was perfect.”
The kids fishing tournaments went off as scheduled on May 16.
“Those went great,” Alley said. “But Friday evening (for carnival rides and music), the attendance was down a little. I think people were scared off from the storms. But the weather ended up actually being beautiful that night.”
Entries for the parade held the morning of May 17 were down a bit, she said.
“But for what we had, it was a good parade,” she said. “We wish we could have had more entries, but it was a busy weekend.”
Alley said people liked the Wildlife Command Center presentation that featured several rescued animals, like owls, snakes and alligators, and went along with the festival’s theme, “Wild About Hillsboro.”
She said Jerry Williams Jr., owner of the Glass Brick Cigar Lounge in Crystal City, brought his mobile truck to the event, which was an event with adults.
“He had a whole lounge area sitting outside of (the truck),” Alley said. “I noticed there were a lot of people down there just sitting around, lounging in the chairs and talking and smoking cigars. He was busy the whole time. He was a big attraction for people. There were a lot of people down there.”
Alley said the festival wouldn’t have been possible without all of the sponsors and volunteers. The chamber charges vendor fees and sells alcoholic beverages at the festival, making the event the group’s largest fundraiser.
“Most of our activities are free,” she said. “This is the one where we raise money to operate for the rest of the year. Our success depends on this festival, and I would say it was pretty successful this year.”
Alley said the chamber won’t know how much money the festival brought in for a couple of months.
The chamber golf tournament was held on May 15, and it also was a success, she said.
“The golf tournament was fabulous,” Alley said. “We had 26 teams, so we were pretty full. We couldn’t even take any more.”