Plenty of people turned out for the three-day Montgomery Fest in Montgomery over the weekend, which began on Friday and ended Sunday with a parade, fireworks and more.
The annual Montgomery Fest parade included two high school bands, politicians, service groups and other marchers.
Former village trustee Denny Lee was the grand marshal of the parade, which kicked off at 1 p.m. Sunday at Main and Madison streets.
Lee was a longtime promoter of the festival and the parade. Now retired and living in Wisconsin, he said all the memories from his years in the village came back when he returned to town.
“I remember all the grand marshals that I had a hand in choosing,” Lee said. “We always gave it to a person or business that made Montgomery great.”
He said returning to Montgomery for the parade was special.
“I took pictures with so many people who saw me before the parade and waved at people I haven’t seen in 20 years,” he said. “I enjoyed it.”
Montgomery Village President Matt Brolley said the festival this year in Montgomery Park was a fantastic event.
“We hit a home run Friday night,” he said, with an estimated crowd of between 5,000 and 6,000 at the fest that night.
“The Friday band left people dancing and having a good time,” he said. “We rolled that right into Saturday, which was amazing.”
Brolley noted that for next year’s festival, Montgomery Park will feature a permanent stage which is being installed along with memorials for veterans and first responders.
He said the village is “really trying to do what we can to make this a vibrant park that people can use year-round.”
Judy Pochel is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
