Pastor Dave’s Musings from the Heartland

September 3, 2023

BLUEBERRY FESTIVAL 2023

                As I sit at my computer writing this musing, I can hear the sounds of preparations being made for this year’s Blueberry Festival.  All around the city of Plymouth you can find signs that the event is close at hand.  Soon our quiet town will be invaded by between 300,000 or 400,000 eager visitors.  For three days traffic will be difficult, especially Monday morning with the annual parade and Blueberry run.

The festival is a boom to the Plymouth and Marshall County economies.   The visitors who are helping to get everything ready for the big weekend need places to stay, food to eat, and all kinds of supplies.  Some bring travel trailers in which to stay.  Others make local motels their home.  The various food stores do a big business.  It takes a lot to meet the needs of the visitors.  For many non-profits the Blueberry festival is one of their major fundraising events.  They park cars, serve food, sponsor events, and supply a variety of services.  A number of residents take the opportunity to have garage sales.

The first half of the 1^st century C.E. every year multitudes of people from all over the Roman Empire would come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.  In the weeks leading up to the festival preparations would be underway to welcome the visitors.  Everyone would need a place to stay.  Some would lodge with relatives and friends.  Others would set up tents.  A few would stay in inns.  Everyone had to be fed.  Places needed to be secured to observe the Jewish Holiday. Merchants would make sure they had their goods on hand ready to sell.  These days of preparation are sort of like Plymouth as I write this article.

Even though Jerusalem was crowded with people, the actual observance of Passover took place in small groups of family and friends (Matthew 26:17-24; Mark 14:12-16; Luke 22:7-13).  Rather than being a service for the masses, Passover was designed for small groups.  In Luke 2:41-52 we read about Jesus’ family traveling with relatives and friends to Jerusalem to celebrate the festival.  On their return trip, at first, they were not concerned He is not to be found.  They assumed He was with the travelers.  When He could not be found, they returned to Jerusalem to find Him in the temple, sitting among the teachers.

Like the celebration of the Passover in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus, the Blueberry Festival is actually a gathering of people for a variety of reasons.  This can be seen by the 2023 Blueberry Festival Map on page 52 of the Pilot News Group special supplement for the event.  There you will find areas where you find art & craft booths, food booths, and commercial booths.  The weekend features a number of tournaments: running/walking, swimming, cycling, arm wrestling, baseball, bowling, golf, cornhole, pickleball, soccer, and volleyball.  Some will come especially for the Hoosier Old Wheels Classic Car Show.  People will start showing up Thursday evening for all of the rides.  And then there are all of the entertainment offerings.  One of my favorites is the parade on Labor Day.  Even with the growth of trees between us and where the festival is held, we can still see some of the fireworks on Sunday evening.

I have always been amazed at the organization that it takes to pull off the festival.  There is a general committee which is supported by many other committees, groups, organization, clubs, and task forces that are in charge of various aspects of the overall event.  Various local government departments play an important role to make the event a huge success. The weekend is a wonderful testimony to the importance of teamwork, cooperation, and a spirit of good will.

Soon all of the preparations that I hear as I write this article will be completed.  In just a few days another Blueberry Festival will have come and gone. Once again it will be a testimony to what can happen when people come together to do big things.