The air was hot, the sun was bright, and the sweet smell of frying zucchini swept through the pine trees like a cool breeze on a muggy southern day.
For the past 24 years, the town of Windsor, located seven miles east of Gainesville, has been transformed by the Windsor Zucchini Festival for one day each May to raise money for its volunteer fire department.
The concept of a small-town festival to raise money isn't unique, but choosing to focus on zucchini is certainly rare.
When asked why zucchini is the center of the celebration, "Why not?" was the reply from Bobbi Walton, the chairperson of the festival. The crop is grown near Windsor.
Walton is the self-declared "head zucchini" of the event. People call her "Ma," and though there are no formal elections, her parking spot reads "Reserved for the Mayor."
She has been with the festival since its inception and seems to be the clock by which everything runs.
Walton said when the festival started in 1984, there were so few people in attendance that they could have held it in the small firehouse.
This year, she estimated, thousands came.
Danny Beaulieu, president of UF Students for Barack Obama, came out to sign people up for the club's listserv.
"We've gotten a really positive response," Beaulieu said.
The fact that groups come to reach the festival's large population is testament to the its growth.
"It's gotten a lot bigger. The first year, we had 13 booths, and this year we have 74," Walton said. "But it's never really lost that feeling of a small community festival."
The day's activities included the Cook-a-Zuke contest, the Zucchini Cake Walk and the Duke of Zuke & Zuqueenie Pageant.
The festival idea came about decades ago because the town could not afford a $1,800-a-year lease for its firehouse. Nowadays, she said, the department has to file taxes because it takes in more than $30,000, thanks in large part to the festival.
"Right now we're saving up for a new truck," she said. "I think they run about $146,000, but we're well on our way."
