Idlewild Park // Norwin Community Picnic

Growing up – one of the highlights of summer was going to Idlewild Park & Soak Zone for the annual Norwin Community Picnic. It’s the first Wednesday in August and it always felt like the exclamation point at the end of summer. My Mom would always wail that it meant summer was over, but we’d always reassure her that it wasn’t Labor Day yet, we still had another month of summer! My family had the park down to a science – after attending for 40+ years, my parents sure knew the ropes. StoryBook Forest first thing, before the rides even opened, then to the pool and water park before the heat of the afternoon and the crowds hit, then a picnic lunch, then rides for the rest of the afternoon. The day was always capped off with fresh cut french fries smothered in cheese from Hoot’n’Holler and the huge prize drawing at the end of the night.

I remember the year my Dad became the official emcee of the day. My Dad has always been hugely involved in the community, not only a member of the Chamber of Commerce, but serving on the board. If you’ve ever met my Dad, you know he’s outspoken and doesn’t blink an eye at being loud. He’s the perfect person to announce the winners of almost 100 prizes donated by local businesses. Every year we would sit on the hill and anxiously wait, hope, and pray for our name to be called. I remember Dad calling Ruby’s name one year – Stephen’s name another – this year he called my Mom’s name! We cheer & hoop & holler & oohh & aahhh over the prizes – it truly is an amazing day.

Since the picnic always occurs on a Wednesday, I haven’t been able to attend since Derrick & I got married & moved away. This year was the first year we have been able to be there – Derrick & Braelynn’s very first visit to the park. We had a blast! I have to admit, the day seemed to fly by even faster than usual, but we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect summer day to celebrate the Norwin Community and summertime.

*note: all of the photos in the post were taken with either my iPhone 5S or Derrick’s Note4 – I didn’t take my DSLR to the park.

So, funny story:
There really weren’t many rides that Braelynn could ride yet. She’s just a little too small to ride any of the kiddie-land rides, so the list of things we could go on together was pretty small. We rode the carousel and the train, and waited in line for 45 minutes to ride Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood Trolley Ride [previously Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood of Make-Believe]. Just as we got to the end of the line & were about to board the trolley, Braelynn fell asleep. And dutifully slept through the whole ride.

Remember the photo at the beginning of the empty hill? This is what it looks like for the prize drawing!

While Grandpa called names – Braelynn enjoyed a little rice cereal.

And then when it was all over, she was upset that Grandpa didn’t call her name for any of the prizes [she had her eye on the huge minion], upset that the day was over, and upset that we had to go home.
It’s okay Braelynn, we’ll go back next year.