The annual Black Dirt Days in Conrad on Friday and Saturday was a success. Lindsay Kuhl, chairperson of the festival, said she heard a lot of compliments about how good the event was this year.

“It was very well attended,” she said. “There were a few sprinkles on Saturday, but that did not stop us. I am very pleased.”

Kuhl said while the attendance was comparable to previous years, she thought there might have been a few more.

“We always have a good turnout,” she said.

There were 27 entries in Saturday’s parade which had a theme of Aloha Conrad, and some of the entries had multiple vehicles. Children and adults lined the streets to watch the procession and snatch up the candy thrown from the floats.

Siblings Logan Goodman, 9, and Mila Goodman, 7, of Liscomb, gathered a variety of confections, along with bottled water, during the parade.

“Getting candy was the best part,” Mila said, smiling.

Daniel Van Zoest, 12, of Wellsburg, did not get to collect candy as he was riding on the Timothy Christian School float with his father, Dan. Afterward, they spent time having fun on Main Street with the inflatables – particularly the mechanical bull.

“This is really cool for Daniel,” Dan said. “He loves bull riding.”

Kuhl made a point of obtaining the mechanical bull and other larger inflatables for the carnival this year. She wanted to provide people of all ages the opportunity to participate in the fun.

Many people gathered on Main Street to watch the fifth annual Deadlift Competition which Kuhl said attracted 70 lifters.

“It was a great turnout,” she said. “It has been growing amazingly well.”

The entire two days, Kuhl worked on many of the aspects of the festival. As she went from event to event, she said her favorite part was seeing all of the hard work pay off, and so many attendees enjoying themselves.

“I am so grateful for our sponsors,” she said. “It leaves me speechless how gracious our donors are. They are so amazing, and I want to thank them.”

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Contact Lana Bradstream at (641) 753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.