Murphy Despite gloomy clouds and chilly weather, the annual Spring Festival drew in happy crowds with plenty of activities, a beer garden and live music.
The family friendly event bustled, with parents and dogs chasing after small children running from the bouncy house to the giant slide. Rayna Rowland, 4, climbed up the steep staircase on the giant slide, slid down in dramatic fashion only to run to the back of line to do it again.
“It’s just fun,” she said.
Charlie Smith, 7, found her fun in local resident Grace Johnson’s face-painting booth. Smith took her time, carefully considered her options.
“I like unicorns and rainbows,” she said. In the end, Grace chose a rainbow for the bright colors.
For the older crowd, the Mobile Ax Throwing booth gathered a crowd as ax-throwers stepped into the cage to try their luck at the wooden targets. Kayla McGaha, 16, threw two duds before landing an ax on the target.
“I’m out of practice,” she said with a laugh.
The festival provided multiple food trucks and treats. That attracted 15-year-old Autumn Kemras, who sat on a sidewalk, calmly enjoying her barbecue sandwich.
“It’s flavorable,” she said. “I like hanging out with the people. I enjoy people watching.”
Among the attractions to watch, Raul Paneto, a local resident came dressed as a Star Wars Mandalorian. Caught buying kettle corn, he admitted loving the festival.
“I dressed up for fun,” he said, tipping his mask to eat the popcorn. “These small-town festivals, there is nothing better in America.”
Just past the McNabb Properties Beer Garden, live bands entertained the crowd from the main bandstand. Street Preachers guitarist Paul Woods, a Murphy native, was thrilled to play here.
“It’s my first time to play for the whole town,” he said, smiling under a stovepipe hat. “It’s been great.”
Local artisans and vendors lined Tennessee Street, offering wares from homemade furniture to handcrafted jewelry to CBD teas and oils. This variety thrilled 95-year-old Ruth Connor who came to the festival with daughter-in-law Cathy Connor.
“I came to buy a few things,” she said, when Cathy interjected, “Get me to the food!”
The well-organized event was made possible by a band of volunteers, including Murphy High School juniors Kinslie Campbell, 17; Lailee Holloway, 17; and Sarah Turner, 16, who made the grim task of emptying and relining trash cans look glamorous