On a cloudy Saturday in late September, people came out to enjoy Burtonsville Day with their families. A strong  turnout brought many people to enjoy music, food, activities, different types of sales  like clothing and art crafts , and community services awareness. A wide array of people from many different backgrounds – from white to Hispanic to Indian and African-American – were on hand to enjoy the day. It wasn’t hot, it wasn’t sunny, but it was perfect weather for this event.

The parade was over at around 10:40 AM and that’s when the festival got crowded with people as those watching the parade moved on to the Marilyn J. Praisner Center to enjoy the rest of the day . Children were over by the baseball field, playing in the bouncy house, and other activities, while people played with their dogs – which seemed to be  everywhere and come in all different shapes and sizes, as big dogs and small dogs enjoyed being petted by those who happened by them.  

The smell of  hot dogs and burgers permeated all through the festival and, though the food was on the pricey side, it was worth it.

The Beach Groove & Blacksmith band began to play cheerful country music at around 11AM, and right in front of the stage was Donnalee, a resident of Burtonsville who  had a stand with beautiful china flowers, which are flowers made out of shiny plates and vases. She makes and paints these flowers for people to buy and put out in their garden.

Donalee, who was attending her second  Burtonsville Day event,  said,  “I love coming here, communicating with others and meeting new people from my community and showing them my artwork.”

    Kaitlyn Klumpp, a volunteer on hand for the day,  said that  “she enjoys seeing different people that you normally see at a grocery store come together and have a good time.” She has been coming to this event many years and says it gets bigger and bigger every year, which makes her feel warm and accomplished because she’s one of the people who pullS this event together.

Even with the cloudy sky and wind a little stronger than those in attendance would have liked, (is this true?) Burtonsville Day was a blast and enjoyed by many families – and dogs.