Posted by Dan McDermott

BROWNTOWN — Saturday’s weather couldn’t have been better for Browntown’s 23rd Annual Redbud Festival, and the community turned out to make the most of it.

The scenic village came alive from morning to afternoon as visitors filled the grounds around the Browntown Community Center — the old Browntown Schoolhouse — for a full day of music, cars, crafts, food and the ever-popular Gooney Creek Duck Race.

The inaugural Dave McDermott Annual Antique Car Show, renamed this year in memory of a beloved festival volunteer who passed away around Christmas, drew an impressive lineup of classic and antique vehicles to the grassy lot between the museum and the Community Center. Trophy awards in four categories — People’s Choice, Participant’s Choice, Best Paint and Best Interior — were presented at the BCCA Stage.

Live music filled the air throughout the day, with the Caney Ridge Band warming up the crowd in the morning before Nashville recording artist and Warren County native Ryan Jewel took the stage for the afternoon set.

The Gooney Creek Duck Race, sponsored this year by Revolution Mortgage, was among the day’s highlights, with rubber ducks making their way down the creek for cash prizes.

Craft vendors at the Community Center and Browntown Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, a bake sale, face painting, barrel train rides for kids, a silent auction and the Browntown Museum kept attendees busy between sets. Redbud seedling trees were also available for purchase.

Festival chairman Martha Buracker, who has been part of the event since its first year, has long described it as “the Mayberry of festivals” — and Saturday proved the point.