Calvary, Georgia: Mule Day November 2009

Yesterday we went to Mule Day in Calvary, Georgia. It is amazing to me how many people come from miles away to the little unincorporated town of Calvary, Georgia to celebrate Mule Day. There must have been thirty to forty thousand people lined up for the parade and to shop the makeshift storefronts that are jammed into about 10 acres.

A Word of Advice
Mule Day is the first Saturday in November every year. If you want to go next year a word of advice. Enter Calvary from the North on Old 179. There is almost no traffic coming from this direction and you can park for free on Old 179 about 5 minutes (walking) from the parade route. If you don't mind paying $3-$5 you can park right in the middle of everything. Do not enter on SR111. If you do, you will be sitting in traffic for at least an hour before you find any parking. We've taken both routes in years past and prefer the former to the latter.

Here are some pictures we took.

Some of our relatives (on Aim's side, of course).

Nice Hat.

Ride 'em Cowboy.

The slowest mules in the parade. The saddles I mean.

Cute kids. We don't know who they are though.

Anyone can look cool when sitting on a Clydesdale.

Are those donkeys or dogs?

Kappy looking through a covered wagon.

This Farmall is in better shape than the one in our barn.

A little John Deere Green.

This is what a Go-Cart looks like in Calvary.

I'm tired of this parade stuff.

Go Noles! Let's make a bowl game this year.

An old Fashioned Ice Cream Maker.

This is a Cane Grinder. He is shoving sugar cane stalks into the machine. The machine smashes the juice out of the stalk. Some of the juice was squirting back at the guy instead of staying in the machine. If you look underneath the gears in the front you can see the cane juice trickle out of the machine and fall through a strainer.

After being squeezed out, the juice is dumped into a big hot vat and boiled. Some foamy green stuff floated to the top and this guy was skimming the foam off the top. We assume once the foam is skimmed off, the cane syrup is what is left.

Inside one of the booths at Mule Day.

And Now for My Opinion
I do not live in Calvary nor do I have any vested interest in the success of Mule Day. In fact, until a few years ago I absolutely refused to go with my wife and kids (citing my aversion to large crowds). So, for what it is worth, this is what I think of Mule Day.

Mule Day seems to epitomize all that is right about living in the south. People of all races, colors and religions come together to have a good, clean, wholesome time. On one stage there was a band playing "Old Timey" music, on another "Gospel," on another "Rock and Roll," and on another "Modern Country." There are all kinds of well constructed booths with everything from antique furniture to folksy paintings to leather accessories to gardening accessories to any type of food you can possibly think of eating. This list is endless.

In addition to the music and shopping, there are all types of antique motors used for woodworking, picking cotton, making ice cream, etc. as well as antique cars.

There is no large police presence required like you see at some of the festivals and no "Carnival like" feel. The only rides you will find at Mule Day are on tractors, mules and horses. Except for the guy riding the water buffalo of course.

The Mule Day Official Website

I just found out that Calvary's Mule Day has an official website. It is located at Calvary Mule Day.