Sunny skies at the Stirling Water Buffalo Festival

By Emma Persaud

STIRLING – For the first time in years, sun shone on the Water Buffalo Festival in Stirling last Saturday.

The seventh annual festival started at 11 a.m. with visitors already lined up at the gate. Some were bundled in rain jackets and hiding under umbrellas, while others stood in t-shirts and shorts in visual defiance of the forecasted thunderstorm. The weather was with them this year, with only a few sprinklings of rain before breaking into sunny skies until the festival ended at 4 p.m.

Members of the planning committee, Deb Brown and Ken Deck, said they were overjoyed with the number of attendees.

“Look at all these people!” Brown said as she looked down the street. The entirety of downtown Mill Street had been blocked off for the festival. This made it possible for not only people to attend, but also for their dogs to come and enjoy the atmosphere.

This was the first year that there was no admission price, but booths had food and local items for sale. Most of the items that were available involved water buffalo in some form, such as smoked buffalo ribs, butter tarts with water buffalo dairy and a special treat called atomic buffalo turds: buffalo meat nestled inside a jalapeño pepper and wrapped in bacon. Most attendees were there specifically for the food.

“This is my first time here in four years,” said Vanessa Shorey, who came with a friend and her daughter. “We definitely came for the food and it’s great how many kids’ activities they have this year.”

Local water buffalo farmer Martin Littkemann says he and his wife were happy that the rain held off to allow their products to be shown at the festival. They started their farm back in 2007 and walked right into festival with Yvette, their show-buffalo.

Deck said that through sponsorship and community efforts they were able to raise $4,000 for the festival to go towards getting entertainment, such as the Whystle Dawgs and the Stirling Citizens Band, as well as children’s activities such as face painting and a bouncy castle. Everyone working there was a volunteer; from the police chief overseeing the castle to the festival logo made by Jennifer Detlor Kerr through her business, DetDesigns.

“I grew up in Stirling,” Detlor Kerr said. “I always knew I wanted to come back here and raise my kids. I try to get involved in as much of Stirling as possible after growing up here.”

Deck and Brown said that next year they hope to expand even more.

“I’d like to get a climbing wall,” said Brown. Even with the work that went into this year’s festival, she was still up at 6 a.m. getting everything ready. Deck said they also hope to add more vendors and a petting zoo in the years to come.

After six months of planning and a full day of fun, the festival was quickly taken down and removed from the street at 4 p.m.

One hour later, a storm flew through the village, just in time for everyone to make it home safe and sound.