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The bandstand in Miner Park Saturday before the Big Rigs took the stage at 7 that night. 

Some kids made a beeline for the playground soon after arrival, while their parents talked or ordered food. 

A Boy Scout with Troop 8030 took a break from working their food and beverage tent to test his axe-throwing skills at Riverbend Axe Throwing's portable cage Saturday at Glenfest.

All smiles after his first attempt, he had additional throws to make Saturday. He also seemed to encourage others from his troop to want to take their own turns.

Soap bubbles hover in the background as people begin to mill around in the Miner Park parking lot Saturday. 

A close-up of the bubbles in the breeze Saturday. 

A wide shot of the crowd during the first hour of Glenfest, including the ever-present bubbles. 

Another shot of the bubble bus at Glenfest Saturday in Miner Park.

After more than a week of warm, sunny days and crisp, cool nights, Glenfest involuntarily benefited Saturday from being scheduled during this long run of dry weather. 

Held in Miner Park, north of Glen Carbon-Centennial Library, the festivities began at 5 p.m. After people arrived, the first thing that greeted them was the Bubble Bus, a tie-dye decorated bus from St. Louis that transported a sound system and bubble machine. Kids and kids-at-heart reveled in the soap bubbles.

Unlike Homecoming in June, Glenfest is confined to the park. Glenfest visitors could park in the library's lot, along Main Street and in nearby lots. This was Glenfest's second consecutive year after the village could not afford to host it in 2019 and lockdown cancelled it in 2020. 

Christina Heidbreder and her sister, Marie, from Glen Carbon enjoyed some Mexican fare at one of the picnic tables set up in front of the stage at the north end of the park. 

"We came last year for the first time and we liked being outside and listening to live music," Heidbreder said. "We're just enjoying the fall air."

On that stage, roadies were setting up for The Big Rigs, a country-rooted St. Louis band, hit the stage to entertain the crowd at 7 p.m. Their music mixes cover tunes with a three-part vocal harmony and a fiddle. The festival concluded with a fireworks display co-sponsored by The Staenberg Group. Some people brought their own chairs in preparation for the after-sundown festivities.

A member of Boy Scout Troop 8030 stepped up into Riverbend Axe Throwing's portable cage and after brief instruction from one of the Riverbend employees, the scout began hurling axes.

Food vendors include Sugarfire, Romeo’s, La Fiesta, Mighty Me Food Truck and Boy Scouts Troop 8030 selling burgers and hot dogs. Scooters will be there with coffee, hot cocoa and sweets and Kona Ice will serve up its shaved ice treats. Natalie and Rianna with the Scooter's Coffee in Glen Carbon, said business had been slow during the first hour but they expected it to pick up as the sun went down and more people arrived for the music and fireworks. 

Scooter's is a relatively new coffee shop in the Metro East, with additional locations in Bethalto and Highland. The young women said customers are surprised to learn how extensive the company's menu is besides coffee - hot drinks, iced drinks, blenders, smoothies and teas - plus pastries, muffins, cinnamon rolls, even oatmeal.

“The tremendous support from the community to hold this annual festival is always appreciated and it’s fun to see everyone enjoying one of our favorite parks surrounded by their neighbors and friends," said Mayor Bob Marcus. "It’s always a good time.”

Charles Bolinger covers Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Maryville, Edwardsville Township and the Collinsville School District for The Edwardsville Intelligencer. A graduate of Webster University in St. Louis, he has been writing for the paper since 2018.