“Goose Festival”

Any child who grew up in Middle River could tell you how big of a deal the Goose Festival is! It’s the one time of year where we kids felt like our town got the recognition it deserved, and we really took that to heart. I can fondly recall our middle school scarecrow decorating contest (we were all especially competitive), painting shop windows, and putting our best creative foot forward with sidewalk chalk art. We really wanted to impress the out-oftowners or newcomers, but also make the local adults proud of our contributions to the busiest day of the year. Other standout childhood memories for me include the couple years that a virtual reality ride was brought in (I went on it so many times that I got nauseous), watching the bed races, and somehow winning the kickball tournament with a 5-man team of Jesme cousins. Goosefest sure stirs up the memories of locals, and it has been doing so for 51 years now!