"It was great, and overall the weather was amazing," said Kurt Thoennessen, the chamber vice president and Fair Days Committee chairman. "We shut it down a little early Friday night, at 9:30, but it didn't dampen people's spirits."
"It all went well. We had no problems," he continued.
More specifically Mr. Thoennessen added, "We did a survey and got great responses from the vendors. And we had 80 or 90 volunteers, so things went smoothly. In fact, people were asking me throughout the fair how to volunteer. We had so many new ones this year as well as a lot of regulars-they're the ones that really make the Fair Days.
"And with that many volunteers, cleanup was faster. The Green was spotless afterward-the garbage was pretty much nonexistent. We left it beautiful, except for some brown patches where the booths stood, but the grass will grow back quickly," he said.
The annual New Milford Idol competition was the main event Friday evening. Each of the 13 semi-finalists-chosen from 86 entrants that emerged in the preliminary contests-got a chance to perform before the event was cut short by the impending storm, and the Idol event concluded the following night with performances by the finalists, when the winner and runners-up were chosen.
"The energy was still there," Mr. Thoennessen said of the hour-long finals, "and both nights the tent was packed."
Janette Dubray of Kent captured the $1,500 prize with her delivery of "My Heart Will Go On." Tom Rapella garnered the $500 second prize; Karen Pavlik, $300 for third; Mollie McDonald, fourth, and Jenn Kopec, fifth, each received gift certificates.
The contestants were judged not only their singing but their delivery and choice of song. And the judges, too, entertained-Vin Nolan, the town's economic development supervisor; Phil Spillane, a local attorney; and Fran Babbino, a former Fair Days co-chairman; and Mr. Thoennessen-singing a medley of Motown songs.
"Fran also sang a song with her 4-year-old granddaughter, who was very, very cute," said Mr. Thoennessen.
New this year at the fair, which is a 42-year tradition in downtown New Milford, was the hot chicken wings eating contest, an adult challenge.
"It was a huge hit and a lot of fun," said Mr. Thoennessen, who noted that one of the volunteers, Tyler Sartwell, ate his way to a fourth-place finish in the heat.
And talk about heat! The wings, which were prepared by St. Peter's Masonic Lodge in New Milford, were "hot," said Mr. Thoennessen, not speaking from personal experience, however.
Only one competitor rose to the real challenge.
"He outdid everybody, finishing all 24 wings-inferno flavor-in 4 minutes and 20 seconds. The rest of the crew stopped at 7 minutes, 30 seconds, and no one else finished them all," Mr. Thoennessen said.
For the kids this year, the fair had not one but two bouncy houses, which were placed at the northern end of the Green.
"They were jam-packed, constantly busy," said the fair chairman. "We had donation boxes out and had a great response-they were another huge hit." Bingo was also a draw.
As usual, he added, "the food was phenomenal, the road race is always popular, the dunking booth too, and the glow sticks were a hit."
About 700 runners competed in the 8-Mile and 5k Road Races, which were held concurrently last Saturday morning, and more than usual seemed to have pre-registered, according to this writer, who volunteers each year on the road race registration desk.
Among the 385 finishers in the 8-miler were U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, the Democratic congressman from Cheshire who represents the 5th District (234th place, race time 1:09:49), and staff reporter Scott Benjamin (206th place, 1:08:16)-see Sports section for full race coverage.
And the New Milford Idol competition wasn't the only musical entertainment.
"Curtis T always packs them in-he was amazing," Mr. Thoennessen said of a popular local band, adding that Last Place Victory, another local band, and Respect Due, a Bob Marley tribute band, were also in fine tune.
The fair chairman pointed out that other fund-raisers were taking place about the same time as the Village Fair Days.
"A tag sale [to benefit the A. Russell Ayre Scholarship] flea market was held at one of the churches [First Congregational], Michael Gold was selling dolls at Geron Nursing, and the Cub Scouts were across from the Green doing a raffle for a kayak," Mr. Thoennessen noted.
Also, the New Milford Historical Society, located on Aspetuck Avenue opposite the northern end of the Green, held a fair days tag sale.
Summing up the Village Fair Days, Mr. Thoennessen, who was new at the helm of chairing this year's event, said, "It's all about community. That's what makes it so special."
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