Sean Dengler. PHOTO BY SOREN M. PETERSON

Another year, another successful Winding Stairs Festival in the books for the community of Traer. In an effort to do things differently this year, I made the trip for both Friday and Saturday. Double dipping on Friday at Lost Island Theme Park during the day while night-capping at the Winding Stairs Festival is a fun time.

Here is my quick review of Lost Island Theme Park: The park is small for what one pays, but for the lack of visitors, it makes up for it since there are no lines to get on the rides. It is worth checking out.

Back to the Winding Stairs Festival, Friday night was slower due to not all reunion folks being back, and other individuals are tired from the work week. It still was a decent crowd to chat with and a variety of different food options, be it the fireman, La Terraza, or the other vendors.

Putting on my Al Roker hat, this was the coolest Winding Stairs Festival. Last year, it was a sweat fest, and this year was a sweater fest. I have never worn pants at the festival, and I still felt chilly by the end of the night. This was a good problem to have since it is much better than heat and humidity.

At the end of Friday night, the trip to The Junkyard Bar was typical except busier. Not surprising considering The Wind Up is no longer in operation. When there is only one watering hole, everyone ends up in it. After the bar, it was time to head home to rest up for Saturday.

Whenever I have the chance to be at the Winding Stairs Festival on a Saturday morning, I head to the pancake breakfast. The pancakes were fluffy, the eggs were moist, and the sausages were tasty. It was all one needed. It was great to see how full the basement of the Presbyterian Church was despite arriving late. After filling up, it was time to check out the mimosa, Bloody Mary bar for the first time. Turns out, screwdrivers were also available. My screwdriver was heavy on vodka and light on orange juice. This made it easy to not go for two. Otherwise, I was not going to be able to find my car in the middle of the day.

A couple of hours later, it was time to drive the Dollars for Scholars (please donate) mobile in the parade. Throwing out candy with mom was fun while seeing all the familiar and happy faces along the route. It was a busy route full of candy laid out across the roadway. After the parade and a little walking, it was time for bingo. No surprise, the old ladies cleaned house. By old ladies, I mean everyone but me.

I did not want all my money to be stolen so I left the bingo tent to see the large crowds waiting for food and listening to the dueling pianos. It was now time to MC the alumni banquet, and the rowdy alumni classes in the Memorial Building. Seeing class members of all ages catch up with each other and reminisce was a beautiful sight. North Tama, Traer-Clutier, and Traer are lucky they have this banquet because it is an effective way to reconnect with the community and give back. Not every small town has this opportunity.

After managing this role, it was time to drink, mingle, and listen to Sushi Roll who put on a great show. It was a fun night and a great festival. Catching up with everyone and celebrating Traer makes for a nice night. Most importantly, to those who put on the Winding Stairs Festival, thank you. It is no easy feat, and it is certainly a thankless job. Unless one has been there, no one quite knows the time and effort, physically and mentally, it takes to make a festival great.

I may have missed some other fun parts of the festival, but that is a good thing. It means there are lots of activities. Seeing the kid rides is great because I never had those growing up. Having the Winding Stairs be a part of the festival is also important. Thank you again for putting on the festival, and I look forward to coming again next year.

Sean Dengler is a writer, comedian, farmer, and host of the Pandaring Talk podcast who grew up on a farm between Traer and Dysart. You can reach him at sean.h.dengler@gmail.com.