Named after the colorful, changing maple leaves, the Maple Leaf Festival takes place on the third full weekend of October. The 56th annual festival attracted bustling crowds from across the Midwest. Baldwin City, which usually boasts a modest population of 4,500, expanded to find room for approximately 35,000 attendees.

The 2014 festival featured picture-perfect weather, sunny and 70 degrees, for the weekend. The event kicked off Saturday with a parade down Sixth street. This year’s parade was longer than in the past, and the entire route was lined with spectators.

Although senior Alli Arnold is currently attending the Baker School of Nursing in Topeka, she came back for the annual festival. Arnold, a Baldwin City native, has attended the event every year for 21 years, saying it is one of her favorite times of the year in her hometown.

“Being from Baldwin, I have been able to see Maple Leaf progress from what I remember from when I was little,” Arnold said. “It may be very hectic around town, but I still love it. I plan on coming for many more years.”

Although many complained about lack of parking and long lines, it meant good business for vendors. More than 300 booths were set up within an eight-block downtown area, where the aroma of roasted turkey legs, spicy mint chocolate fudge and candied pecans blended together.

Because of the packed crowd, Arnold, like many other festival-goers, found it difficult to maneuver her way through the masses. It was especially difficult in the downtown fire station, where the booths were set up inside. Two entrances provided access to the area, but because of the flow, or lack thereof, there was sometimes more standing than walking.

“With crowds like that, you have to have appropriate ways to walk – like with a flow – and many people don’t follow that flow,” Arnold said. “Plus, people like to stop mid-walk, which is annoying.”

Students and Baker organizations participated in the festival by hosting booths, which is becoming a tradition. Kappa Sigma’s booth, which sells its infamous turkey legs, was one of the more popular food vendors. The size of the line stayed consistently long, despite the use of two smokers. Other booths included the baseball team’s lemonade and limeade stand and informational booths by other campus organizations.

Special events at this year’s festival were a quilt show, a carnival and kids’ zone, and guided tours of the Black Jack Battlefield and the Black Jack cabin.

Arnold walked away from the festival full of candied jalapeños and with bags of goodies from different booths, including soups from the Soup Lady from Nebraska, local honey and a wolf shirt.

“I came back because I love Maple Leaf and because it always has such unique stuff that only comes around once a year,” Arnold said.