An eager crowd helped ring in the Geauga County Maple Festival for its 95th year of celebrating maple syrup, and it had plenty to do on the grounds of Chardon Square from April 23-26.
The festival, which started in 1926 and has only missed five years in its 100-year history, welcomes the community to partake in lumberjack competitions, pancakes in the park, parades, pageants, sap runs, a range of arts and crafts vendors, historical displays, and a highlight for many — bathtub races.
Starting at 11 a.m. on April 26, bathtub racing teams consisting of two “pushers” and a driver line up along the shut-down streets of Chardon Square, each taking their turns running the makeshift course.
The course is cordoned off orange cones and bright yellow construction warning tape; teams line up behind the starting line, pushers grabbing the handles of modified iron claw foot bathtubs tricked out with suspended racing wheels connected to beefed up steering columns…