The highlight of the annual Mokane World's Fair has got to be the parade.
It seems all the townsfolk drag out their folding chairs and find their favorite spaces along Route C (also known as Fulton Avenue), from where they can catch candy thrown by passersby.
But, the parade -- and the fair in general -- also attracts former Mokane residents and family members who have moved away.
Terry Howard, president of the Mokane Lions Club, and Bryan Rogers, the club's treasurer, said this weekend's event (which is the club's main fundraiser for the year) is the 73rd. It started in 1950.
Rogers estimated 7,000 people attended the opening of the fair Friday night. Howard added people had to park their cars in residential neighborhoods way over the hill from the fairgrounds. Fulton Avenue was lined with cars way down past the Katy Trail trailhead, he said.
A hoard of people surrounded the midfield, where the demolition derby took place Friday night. They began lining up early for the tractor pulls Saturday afternoon.
"It's free to come in," Howard said. "You can eat our food, but you don't have to eat our food. You can drink our drinks or bring your own drinks.
"That's a big draw for folks and it's been that way for many, many years."
If you want to see the people from Mokane, come to the town Labor Day weekend, Howard said.
That is absolutely the case, said Inez Stanberry. Stanberry, who grew up in town, but later moved away, said she's been coming out early Fulton Avenue for years and years.
"I know about everybody," she said. "I couldn't tell you how long I've been coming. My daughter was a little one then, and we had our own floats in the parade then."
They now live in Fulton.
She said her daughter went to school at South Callaway R-II High School in Mokane, as did she, her parents and her grandparents.
Some people come just to hear the high school band, she said. The band leads the parade every year, then performs in the fairgrounds.
"It's kind of like homecoming around here. People that went to school in Mokane all come back here," Stanberry said. "They know when the fair is, because it's always over Labor Day."
And they visit with all their old school friends and families.
The grand marshals of the fair's parade, and there were four of them, each can say they've attended all the previous 72 fairs.
Buddy Joe Rogers, Bill Howard, Velma Howard and Shirley Thomas were all out on the fairgrounds Saturday afternoon.
Bryan Rogers said he enjoys telling the story of how the fair became a "World's Fair." He said legendary local DJ Ron Lutz was a huge supporter of the event.
Lutz had enough sway within the county, Bryan Rogers said, that if you ran for county office and could get Lutz to support you, "you were about a shoe-in."
Lutz would say things like "Calwood is the crossroads of the universe," Rogers said. Calwood is an unincorporated community northeast of Fulton.
He used to plug Mokane too. He would say on the air, "Folks, if you ain't got nothin' to do this weekend, just go on down there to Mokane, where they're holding the World's Fair."
Originally, the event was called the Mokane Fall Festival.
The fair continues today. The beer garden opens at noon. Flat Footin' Follies is at 1:30 p.m. and music is offered by DJ McGrath from 2:30-6 p.m. Carnival rides are at 6 p.m. and the antique truck and tractor pull is at 7 p.m.
CORRECTION: This article was edited at 8:34 a.m. Sept. 6, 2022, to correct the description of Calwood's geographic location.
Ashley Dupont and daughter Alayna, 6, wait for the Mokane World's Fair parade to begin Saturday morning, Sept. 3, 2022.
Shady porches were perfect spots from which to watch the annual Mokane World's Fair parade Saturday morning, Sept. 3, 2022.
Three of four grand marshals ride in a convertible during the annual Mokane World's Fair parade Saturday morning, Sept. 3, 2022. Bill Howard, Shirley Thomas (center) and Velma Howard enjoyed a morning ride.
The annual Mokane World's Fair parade featured about two dozen vintage and custom cars for 2022.
Children run alongside Fulton Avenue to pick up candy thrown from parade floats.
A boy throws candy from the top of a Callaway Electric Cooperative truck.
Vintage tractors pulled floats along the Mokane World's Fair parade route.