Twin City Days organizers said people were thrilled with the return of the three-day festival, held Sept. 9-11 at venues throughout Festus and Crystal City.
“The compliment we kept hearing from everybody was they were just so happy Twin City Days was back,” said Kirk Mooney, a member of the organizing committee since its inception in 1994. “Overall it was great. There were good crowds; the weather was just gorgeous.”
Tonda Breeze, executive director of the Twin City Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the festival, said she, too, was pleased with the event. “We were very happy it went so well.”
Breeze said the event, canceled last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, drew consistently healthy crowds across all three days.
“I have no clue about how much we made; I haven’t touched the money yet,” she said. “But, you know, just being able to have the event means we are ahead of where we were last year at this time. And we never intended this to be a moneymaker; we’ve always tried to keep all the activities free or very low cost.
“It’s a big party to bring the community together.”
The festival actually kicked off on Tuesday, Sept. 7, with the first broadcast of clues in the “Hunt for the Red Bird” event.
“Rob Roth won again this year,” Mooney said. “He’s won several times before, and he won it in two clues this time.”
Thursday morning, the Twin City Days golf tournament took flight at Oak Valley Golf Course and Resort in Pevely, and Thursday night saw the Twin City Days Trivia Night, sponsored by Leader Publications and held at Festus High School.
Friday morning’s Mayor’s Breakfast showcased the annual friendly rivalry contest between the two Twin City mayors, as Crystal City’s Tom Schilly shut down Festus’ Sam Richards in an ax-throwing competition.
Friday evening, hundreds of people took to the streets for the Cobblestone Celebration in Crystal City. A bit further north, bicyclists assembled at the city’s municipal park for a ride around town, returning for a movie in the park.
New this year was the Murder Mystery Dinner, a benefit for Mary’s House of Hope.
“Everyone at the dinner was very happy with the turnout,” Breeze said. “They were already talking about next year.”
Saturday’s events included a variety of kids’ activities in both cities.
“The kids had a blast at the kids’ games and money pit,” Mooney said. “The Kiwanis does a great job with that. And we couldn’t thank the folks at the Baptist Church more; that event is great, too.”
For adults, there was the Twin City Days Brewfest.
“We were very happy about the return of that event,” Mooney said. “And there was a fantastic crowd at the washers and cornhole tournaments.”
Main Street in Festus was hopping all day with the Main Street Market, a food court and a classic car show.
“I thought at first it was going to be a little slower (than expected),” Breeze said. “Then it started filling up, and by about 10:30 it was busy until 4 o’clock.”
“The Art Show was more lightly attended than we hoped for, but we’re talking about maybe making some changes for next year,” Breeze said.
The festival closed with a concert at Larry G. Crites Memorial Park in Festus, featuring the Dr. Zhivegas band.
“At 7 p.m., I was thinking, ‘Oh, my – it’s going be such a light turnout,’” Breeze said. “We knew we were competing with the Rat Rod event out west and the Backstoppers that night. But the weather was so good, and people just kept coming in, and at the end we had such a good crowd.”
“We did a 50/50 to benefit Backstoppers at the dance,” Mooney said. “We raised more than $700, our highest one ever.”