Organizer Joey Shulman says he named the event “Maynooth Madness” for a reason.
He says the August 30th weekend has been filled with live music, street artists, men on stilts, balloons, a petting zoo, wagon rides, and a horticultural fair, as well as 45 vendors. Shulman says it will be a family fun day willed with art, music and antiques. He says the only thing that isn’t covered is the gospel tent, which he says will be in Bancroft.
Shulman has been organizing the event for the entire 30 years it has been active. He says for 21 of those years, the loggers games brought in the majority of people. He says that 7500 people would come in to Maynooth, which was a town of 400. But after the organizing couples retired, Shulman said they could not fill nearby Logger’s Field. The event was re-imagined as a family day of fun. Shulman said there was once an idea to shut down Highway 62 and create a community dinner. But when the event could not apply for certain grants, they could not shut down the street. Still, Shulman enjoys the fact that drivers along the route slow down to the pace of life in Maynooth. Often literally, he says, as there will be hay wagon rides down the road that day.
Despite being busy, Shulman says he’s excited. He says he’s counting down to the end of summer, and says the event is well over a year in the making. He says that if the weather holds off, the event could really be sensational. He says the good vibe of the event has grown exponentially, between the community support, money raised, and the township working together. He says he can coast for years on that kind of feeling.
A full list of what is going on can be found here.