Photo by Philip Southern Farmington preschooler Madelyn Light has fun in the Princess Parlor during the Founders Festival July 16.

By David Wallace
C & G Staff Writer

FARMINGTON — A feeling of small-town Americana filled the downtown this past weekend as people
gathered July 15-17 for the 46th annual Founders Festival.

Plenty of people got an early start July 15 as many families found their way to the Meijer Go Playground, which offered kid-friendly performers and inflatable rides.

“I was really surprised to see the activity. There’s a lot of families walking around having a great time early. It’s really been a terrific turnout — great from the get-go,” said Farmington Downtown Development Authority President Bob Rock during the afternoon July 15. The DDA organizes the festival.

“So far, so good. We’ve got good crowds coming out. We have acts every hour and activities going on for the kids. This is the second year of the kids area, and it’s really gone over well, because we have something for everybody,” said Jamie Jakacki, the entertainment volunteer for the festival and the marketing director for Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus, which sponsored the stage in the kids area.

“My 5-year-old, she loves the face-painting, all the inflatables, and I think she’ll love this one,” said Mara Rey, as they waited for the bungee jump trampoline, where kids bounced on an inflatable trampoline while wearing a harness connected to two bungee cords.

“You’re, like, flying up into the air,” described Farmington Hills resident Dylan Osborn, 8, moments after ending his ride.

“A kid could probably spend a full day in a bouncy house,” said Sarah Hirsch of West Bloomfield, whose kids Elena, 7, and Jacob, 5, wore cool new sunglasses they received free as they explored the playground.

Crafters and vendors sat out of the sun — temperatures reached around 90 degrees early June 15 — along Farmington Road between Orchard and Grand River.

“I think it’s one of the better fairs. The variety of things is phenomenal, and the food. And then they have things for the kids to do, too, which kind of rounds it out,” said Jan Knowles, who sold teas and teapots.

“We do hand-blended herbal teas. Many of these are recipes I’ve developed. I’m very big into health, so my teas are very high in antioxidants. I look for teas that start out with a very high antioxidant base, and then I add my fruits and spices and herbs,” said Knowles.

Festivalgoers perused the Friends of the Farmington Community Library’s book sale toward Orchard and continued on to numerous vendors selling classic fair food — elephant ears, steak and cheese sandwiches, and fresh-cut french fries. Vendor Kristen Gillette said one fair staple probably tops them all in sales, though.

“Probably our corn dogs — they’re a secret recipe,” said Gillette.

A fair number of nonprofit organizations set up tents in the Downtown Farmington Center parking lot to spread the word about their causes.

Volunteers with Michigan Greyhound Connection sat at one tent with two dogs to raise interest in adopting retired racing dogs. 

“This is probably my third year, maybe fourth, and we’ve always had really good response,” said Linda Kort of Clinton Township.

Clarkston residents Steve and Char Hargis brought their grandson, Jackson, a Farmington resident, to the festival.

“We just walked through the shops and the displays, looked over some of the wares, bought a little plaque for in the house at one of the displays,” said Steve Hargis.

“We’ve run young Jackson around, showing him different things,” he said.

They sat on a bench along the Grand River streetscape and ate hotdogs with Jackson seated in the wagon, tapping with both hands on the plaque — “family is a little world created by love” — like an imaginary piano. Anyone walking on the sidewalk could recognize it as a quintessential small-town American moment.

The early attendance seemed to bode well for the rest of the weekend, though the festival had to weather severe thunderstorms during the evening July 15.

“Some tents were destroyed by the wind, but we’re operating 100 percent today,” DDA Executive Director Annette Knowles — no relation to Jan Knowles  — said July 16.