Every year, Parke County, Indiana hosts the Covered Bridge Festival, a 10-day annual October pageant, celebrating the rustic beauty of this quaint section of Southwest Central Indiana, and its historic covered bridges.
This year, the festival runs from October 10 through October 19, ending this coming Sunday. Its a decentralized affair, with events taking place in several different Parke County Communities, but the three biggest are in Rockville, Mansfield, and Bridgeton. These venues easily host over 20,000 per day, particularly on the weekend.
Rockville is the County seat of Parke County, with the picture-book Courthouse square hosting most of the action.
Mansfield is arguably hosts the largest contingent of the festival, and is located to the West of Rockville by about 8 miles.
Bridgeton is about 8 south-southwest of Rockville, and boasts a working water-fall fed grain mill, plus the usual vendors that operate in these types of festivals.
What makes these events striking is the people that attend them. White. Lower-Middle Class. As Rock-ribbed Republican as you can get. We talk about "soccer moms" and NASCAR dads", well the typical attendant at these festivals are Harley-Davidson-riding cousins and the Longenberger-basket-buying nieces.
Even more striking is the obvious lack of support for the top of the Republican ticket. My trip there last week revealed the usual support for local republican office seekers up and including Mitch Daniels for governor, as revealed in yard signage, bumper stickers and buttons by attendees. But throughout my trip, I could count on one hand the number of McCain/Palin signs I saw.
Even more remarkable was the response to my own wearing of an Obama/Biden button. In years past, I can genuinely say that I'd be run out of town for wearing such a badge in public 'round these parts. This time? I was stopped 3 times by people asking me where THEY could get a button or a yard sign? Several vendors, seeing me pass by, quickly uttered the words "Yes we can." No disturbing stares. Just the occasional glance, almost always with an air of recognition, rather than rebuke.
This is the area of Indiana that the Obama Campaign has to reach. Remember these cities: Rockville, Mansfield, and Bridgeton. I strongly advise Obama supporters to take a few hours this weekend, enjoy the festival, and make their presence known--not through pressuring sales pitches, but by just being there, in force, to show the residence and visitors that its OK for Indiana citizens to vote for the skinny black guy with the funny name.