By JOSHUA THOMAS

C-S-E Editor

NELLISTON  —  On Saturday, the Canajoharie-Fort Plain Elks Lodge 2621 invited the public to celebrate summer with them, offering a variety of family-friendly events during their inceptional Summerfest.

Classic, colorful cars lined the grass along Old Station Road with the picturesque river just behind them, while kids having a blast on bouncy attractions, in a dunking booth, face painting, and participating in other various activities could be viewed from the road, attracting members of the public to the event, which started early and lasted well into the evening.

Based on the turnout and the obvious amount of fun attendees were having, Elks member Tom Yager said that the organization definitely plans to hold Summerfest again next year. Summerfest, in the planning stages for two-to-three months prior to to the big day, replaced the Elks’ Steak Bake as a way to draw in more people from the public.

In attending, the public was able to find out more about the Elks, including the fact that the money raised during Saturday’s event would be put toward the variety of charities the Elks annually donate to, including drug awareness programs, youth programs, hoop and soccer shoots, veterans programs, post prom parties and the dictionary program, which provides dictionaries to local schools.

Yager pointed out that although the Elks thrive on their charitable work in the community, Saturday was also just a day for families to come out and enjoy themselves, as he stated, “the kids are having a ball.”

Exalted Ruler Rosanne Hoffman said that about 30 Elks were present on Saturday, donating their time in various capacities. Mark and Karen Shibley, for instance, put on a car show, providing four awards: the People’s Choice, Exalted Ruler’s Choice, Children’s Choice and Mo Mosher’s Choice, as Howard ‘Mo’ Mosher was integral in planning the event, and in deciding which activities would be best to bring in a diverse cross section of the public. The car show booth also held a 50/50 raffle, and raffles for donated items, which anybody could enter.

Hoffman, with a smile, recounted her adventurous turn in the dunking booth (on loan from the St. Johnsville Fire Department) earlier in the day. She said that once it was decided that Summerfest would feature a dunking booth, Elks members repeatedly commented, “Rosie’s gonna be in it,” to which she initially responded, “oh yeah?” with a laugh.

Hoffman relented though, “because it’s for charity and for my lodge,” and took a turn in the booth, admitting that her first time dunked “was a shock, but was a lot of fun.”

“For somebody that doesn’t like water, I did it,” she proudly commented.

At one point, her granddaughter, Skyler Hoffman, (who took a turn in the booth later in the afternoon) after failing to dunk her grandmother, ran up to the target and dunked her with a manual push of the trigger.

It was noted by Hoffman that various vendors provided donations Saturday, and organizations such as the Fort Plain and Canajoharie Fire Departments were on scene, selling popcorn and friend dough, respectively, to raise money for various causes, including the purchase and installation of a storage shed on Little Mohawk St. in Canajoharie.

The Elks, who recently raised almost $4,000 in their annual bid to deliver necessary items to hospital-bound veterans, are always scheduling fundraising events, which there will be more information about here as soon as announcements are made official.

More images in the Seen section.