The last full weekend in July, my home town of Newberg as the Old Fashioned Festival. It is a fun way to spend a four day weekend. With two parades, rows and rows of booths and vendors, a carnival, live music, fireworks, and yummy (not healthy) treats, you will not be bored for a second. The kick off to the festival is the children's parade which takes place Thursday evening. This is parade that anyone young, or old can be in a parade. It's even fun for the spectators! Liam and I decided to sit this one out and just watch, and boy were we glad we did! We left with fistfuls of candy and we saw Lightning McQueen and Mater!
Because the festival is held at a park, there is always the playground to keep the little ones occupied. There are several slides, swings (the regular kind), bars to climb and an old fashioned stage coach to "ride" in. There was also a boy scout section where they had a really cool swing and a rock wall to climb. Liam was a bit small to go on the swing alone, but he climbed the rock wall like a spider...with help, of course. I think Liam is going to love boy scouts!
Saturday morning we always go to the all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast offered by a local club with my grandparents. Then we stake out the best spot for the big parade and visit until it begins. It's an early morning, but it is so worth it! I may be biased, but I think it's the best one that I've ever seen! There are several bands, dance teams, floats, old cars and trucks, and police officers and firefighters. Once again, we left with a bag full of candy and with one tired boy.
The carnival is geared toward the teenage crowd, with a handful of rides, some games, and a live band. Liam wanted to go on the rides, but he was a bit too small and they were far too spendy, but we decided to play a couple of games instead. He won a stuffed tiger when he went fishing and caught a big one! 
All of these parts of the festival are wonderful, but the very best part is the fireworks show Saturday night! They usually last about a half an hour and it's non-stop! They do a great job of having a couple of false endings where the fireworks just go and go, then they stop and a couple of seconds later, their back! It makes for one exciting night. On Sunday there is a car show and more music at the main stage, but if you ask me, Saturday is the best day to visit.
