Published: October 11, 2008 06:45 pm            

Crawling to a close: Visitors get a beautiful day to enjoy Harvest Homecoming

Crawling on tiny hands and knees, babies slid toward the open arms of their mother or father Saturday.

Tobin Love flashed a smile as he snuggled into his mother’s outstretched hands. She beamed with pride as other mothers patted her on the back and uttered indecipherable baby talk to 9-month-old Tobin.

“This was really fun,” Megan Love said after her son finished in a tie for first in the 9- to 10-month old division and second in the overall round of the Harvest Homecoming Baby Crawl.

Ashley West was the winner of the event with Tobin in second and Arianna Page in third place.

Cris McDowell, director of the baby crawl, said it went over smoothly thanks to great weather and a turnout of approximately 50 babies.

“It was wonderful. The best we’ve ever had,” McDowell said.

The baby crawl served as one of the main events on the next to last day of Harvest Homecoming. Crowds swarmed into New Albany’s downtown to enjoy warm weather, a plethora of food choices and live music.



Booths did well

Several vendors commented that business was great for the first three days of Harvest. Most said Friday night was the best turnout so far.

Charlie Bunge was working the grill for Holy Family Troop 36, whose booth was selling roasted corn and had a lengthy line even before noon.

“Some years we sell out of [corn] and end up having to go and get more,” he said, adding it was too early to tell how much they would sell this year.

Typically, Bunge said roasted corn sells better when it’s cool outside because people want something to warm them up.

Workers at the booth estimated they had purchased around 5,000 ears of corn for Harvest.



Other numbers

A stroll down East Market Street and then along to the side streets lined with booths and vendors reveals a lot about fashion, political preferences and exactly what is being sold or given away at Harvest.

The Tribune — though lured toward food booths on several occasions due to overwhelming smells that would wet any appetite — took such a walk and observed some interesting numbers during a 30-minute stretch Saturday.



Political races

Indiana truly is a battleground state if Harvest is any indication. There were eight stickers, shirts or signs for Republican presidential candidate John McCain spotted and likewise for his Democratic challenger, Barack Obama.

As evident by past elections, Floyd County will be a close call for the 9th District according to a Harvest count. There were five items spotted including signs and shirts for the Republican candidate Mike Sodrel and the same amount for Democratic incumbent Baron Hill.

Both candidates made stops at Harvest on Friday. The amount of hands shook and babies kissed were not noted.



Support your team

Sports gear is always popular, but the team most represented during this walk may surprise Hoosier fans. There were 15 University of Louisville caps and shirts spotted compared with eight Indiana University gear-wearers.

Fans exemplified the University of Kentucky with a count of seven shirts and caps worn in support of the blue and white. Ball State’s recent gridiron success hasn’t equated to a Southern Indiana following as only one supporter of the university showed their school spirit as she donned a Ball State shirt.

Jim Michel of D and L Sales said he was surprised their booth hadn’t sold more Hoosier sports gear, adding UK was making a comeback compared with other years they’ve sold merchandise at Harvest.

“It’s pretty close between all three but we’ve sold more Louisville stuff this year,” he said, adding they had even managed to sell a few Purdue University items.

It almost looked like the recent Super Bowl matchup with the Chicago Bears the way the Indianapolis Colts dominated Harvest.

This reporter lost count after he ran out of fingers and toes when calculating all the Colts gear on display.



Other numbers

• A Gideon International man handling working a booth said they would hand out 6,000 Bibles by the end of the weekend.

• A friendly clown holding a bucket to collect donations for Kosair Shriner Hospital said they had already handed out thousands of balloons to kids.

• The Tribune booth workers said 20 Pet of the Month calendars distributed by the newspaper were sold in the first few seconds the booth was open Saturday morning. It’s still not too late to get your copy, though, and they’re just $5. Visit The Tribune office at 303 Scribner Drive to get your copy.

        

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