Fish Day hit hard by wild weather

Weather wreaked havoc on Fish Day Saturday, with everything from intense heat to roaring winds and driving rain and even fog.

“The stands were hit hard by this one,” Fish Day General Chairman Mary Monday said. “We’ve never had a Fish Day where it rained that much. We were hit hard for 15 to 20 minutes. 

“The heat usually hurts us more than the rain, and this year we had both.”

This year, the festival sold less beer than anytime in its history, Monday said, attributing that to both the heat — when it’s hot, the crowd tends to drink water instead of beer — and the fact that the storms that hit in the afternoon sent many people home.

“The weather’s something we don’t have control of,” Monday said.

Carl Wegner, chairman of the Lion Club’s fish day stand, said things went better than they feared.

“It wasn’t too bad,” he said. “I think we’ll do OK. We had a big rush early, and people did come back (after the first round of storms). It’s not going to be a record year, but we were steady with people and I think all our patrons had a good time.”

The club set up its tent so people could shelter under it, which aided in its sales, Wegner said, adding that when the activities in Upper Lake Park closed, the stand also had some added traffic.

The weather meant that the helicopter rides were cancelled for the second consecutive year, she said, and it was likely the reason perennial favorites South Shore Drill Team from Chicago and the Dancing Grannies didn’t show up for the parade.

“They were supposed to be here,” Monday said, but they never showed up. “That was an enormous disappointment.”

But that meant the parade was about 30 minutes shorter than usual, she said, so the crowds headed to the fish and chips stands earlier than normal.

“The attendance after the parade was phenomenal,” Monday said. “It was packed. People were lined up deep at the stands.”

Two of the bands scheduled to play early in the day also were no-shows, she said.

When the first storm hit about 12:30 p.m., Monday said, many people found shelter or headed home, but they tended to return.

The bands had to take a break to dry off the stages and equipment after the rain, but resumed play and the festival continued until the second storm hit later in the afternoon, Monday said. This time, many people left but didn’t come back — especially families.

The arts and crafts fair ended early because the wind was blowing the tents, and the car show did as well. With little to draw people to Upper Lake Park, the Veterans of Foreign Wars closed its food stand although it continued to sell beer for some time, Monday said.

This was the first year wristbands were required for people to purchase alcoholic beverages, and for the most part it went well, Monday said. But after the storm hit, the tables where they were being distributed were empty, causing confusion.

“We’ll just have to work it out,” she said.

While the carnival and a replacement inflatables company cancelled on the festival, Monday said James Mae Rentals of Grafton stepped in at the last minute and put together a group of inflatables to provide activities for youngsters.

“They were my heroes,” Monday said.