WAPAKONETA, OH (WLIO) - The Summer Moon Festival is still going strong, with some of the best events yet to come. Bethany Ulrick tells us more.
Friday is the first day of the Moon Market at Wapakoneta's Summer Moon Festival. Running through Saturday afternoon, this is the time of the year for craft makers, bakers, and local businesses to shine and show the tourists what they and the entire downtown have to offer. Many brick-and-mortar businesses are selling products in their stores, and outside in booths. The combined effort of all the shops leaves a great impression on first-time visitors, encouraging many to come back to the town next year, or even outside of the festival.
"Wapakoneta has something for everyone. We've got everything from restaurants to unique antique stores. We've got resale stores, we've got boutiques such as ours, we have consignment stores, we've got gift stores. Just a little bit of everything for everyone, and that's what makes it so great," said Barb Harrod, co-owner of Twelve Oak Boutique.
Over at the Armstrong Air and Space Museum, tourists and locals stepped out of the heat to learn more about the scientific feats the moon festival commemorates. The museum's historian gave a special presentation on the Gemini 8 mission, Neil Armstrong's first-ever trip to space. This week, the museum has seen visitors from all over the world, some coming from as far as Japan and Australia.
"With the upcoming Artemis missions we'll be going back to the moon in the next few years so we really want to make sure that people understand, what is the science behind getting to the moon? What is the science behind rocketry? These are a lot of the concepts that we cover here during the festival. We'll have rocket launches going throughout, we'll have an education tent that just allows kids to get hands-on with these activities. And of course, we'll have astronaut Don Thomas here," said Logan Rex, curator and communications director at the Armstrong Air & Space Museum.
This weekend promises more fun for people of all ages. At the Armstrong Air & Space Museum, there will be plenty for kids to do, from inflatables to rocket building. Downtown is full of exciting events tomorrow, like the wiener dog races and the new river paddle battle. For the full schedule, visit summermoonfestival.com.
