More than a parade, the Persimmon Festival brings people together

The streets of downtown Mitchell filled on Saturday with floats, horses, tractors, cars, and families gathered along the road for the annual Persimmon Festival parade.

For some people, the festival is something they have grown up with. For others, it was their first time attending. Whether they traveled across the county or more than an hour from home, many came to reconnect with friends and family, experience the festival together, and make new memories.

That feeling is what keeps Melissa Passmore coming back.

After winning first place in the festival’s pudding contest, Passmore said one of her favorite parts of the festival is the people she gets to see.

“I just like being able to come back and see old friends, old classmates that I haven't seen for a long time,” Passmore said.

For Crystal Shetlar, those reunions are part of what makes the festival special. She has lived in the Mitchell area for nearly 30 years and has served in several roles, including general chairman twice.

Over the years, Shetlar has watched the festival bring together residents, returning families, and visitors from outside the area.

“It’s like a small hometown reunion, and I think that’s fabulous,” Shetlar said.

But creating that reunion takes more than a parade and a few days of entertainment. It takes people giving their time to make the week possible.

“The most wonderful thing about the Persimmon Festival, really, is the volunteer commitment,” Shetlar said.

She said volunteers spend days and nights putting the festival together, while others work throughout the year to organize different parts of the event.

Lori Livingston is one of those volunteers. She has worked at the Chamber ticket booth for three years and grew up attending the festival herself. Now, she spends the week welcoming visitors while running into people she has known for years.

“We get to see a lot of familiar faces. A lot of people I went to high school with,” Livingston said. “It’s nice.”

Livingston said the community’s willingness to give its time is what helps make the festival possible.

“Mitchell has a huge population of volunteers that would definitely give up a lot of their time and energy to make this one week special for the community,” Livingston said.

For some attendees, that community connection has lasted far longer than a few years.

Charla and Nelson Terrell have been attending the Persimmon Festival since they were children. They later brought their own children, and now return with their grandchildren.

They enjoy spending time together, seeing people they have not seen in a long time, and watching their grandchildren experience the festival.

“It is a grandparent thing,” the Terrells said.

The next generation is also finding its own place in the festival.

Ryland Davis has attended for about 10 years and now participates as the Lawrence County Fair Princess. Through the county fair pageant, Davis said she has gained new friendships and connections while learning about leadership and responsibility.

“I’m a role model to all these little kids,” Davis said.

While some attendees have spent decades making the festival part of their lives, the event continues to bring in people experiencing it for the first time.

Deanna Pfaff came from Sunman with her husband and their two children to experience the festival for the first time.

“We haven't been to a parade this great in a while,” Pfaff said.

Angela and Jeff Hicks also attended for the first time, traveling from Jasper after hearing about the festival from someone they knew.

“Oh, yeah. Yeah, it was just a little over an hour for us, but it’s well worth the drive,” Angela Hicks said.

Visitors are not the only people traveling to Mitchell to be part of the festival.

David Pate, a member of the Bartholomew County Shrine Club, has participated in the Persimmon Festival for about six years as part of a group that travels to roughly 20 parades each year.

Pate said the Persimmon Festival stands out because of the crowd, the organization of the parade, and the fellowship among the people participating.

For him, the parade is also about finding a spot, settling in, and enjoying everything that comes through downtown.

“Find a great seat and enjoy the parade,” Pate said.

That same relationship with the crowd is important to the people working the festival’s food stands.

Dylan Coolazier works at the Sirloin Tips and Potatoes stand, a family-operated business that has been part of the festival for more than 35 years, and Coolazier has worked there for seven years.

During the busiest parts of the festival, customers can stretch the line down the street, but for Coolazier, the crowds are more than just customers.

“The crowds are awesome, man. People down here are real nice. It’s just a good group of people out here,” Coolazier said.

The relationship between the festival and the people who return each year is what keeps businesses like his coming back.

“Without you guys, we wouldn’t be able to operate,” Coolazier said.

That exchange is visible throughout the festival. Volunteers give their time, vendors return year after year, parade participants travel from outside the county, families bring their children, and eventually their grandchildren, and first-time visitors discover traditions they can carry home with them.

For Shetlar, all of those people are part of what makes the festival continue.

“It’s an absolute ball,” Shetlar said.

For the Terrells, it has become a tradition stretching from their childhood to their children and grandchildren. For Passmore, it is a chance to see old friends and classmates. For newcomers like the Hicks and Pfaff families, it is a new experience that can give them a reason to return.

And for Shetlar, it remains what she has seen throughout her years with the festival: a small hometown reunion that brings together longtime residents, returning families, and people discovering the festival for the first time.