Everybody was wearing one this weekend at the J. Ashley Wall Towne Square during the 81st annual Harvest Festival.

Chamber of Commerce Director Ula Mae Life couldn't keep the smile off her face.

"This is so great. This has to be the largest crowd we had in all the years I've been at the chamber," Life said.

Police Lt. Bobby Langston wore a smile Saturday morning, too, as he waited for the 10 a.m. start of the Harvest Festival parade.

The parade was reinstituted this year after a several year absence caused by a scheduling conflict between the festival and the SAT college entrance exams. The test made it impossible for the East Wake High School band to participate in the parade and, well, a parade without a band...

Three-year-old Shawn Hutchinson, of Middlesex, smiled as he imitated the motorcycles in Saturday morning's parade.

The grassy lot beside the Wendell Woman's Club was home to the major attraction for most young people. This year's most popular ride was the bungee swing. Georgia Biggie said her daughter Autumn waited 90 minutes for her turn on the contraption.

And there were smiles all around Saturday night as the Band of Oz brought the two-day festival to a close. People filled the town square with lawn chairs and blankets to enjoy the beach music band that is quickly becoming a Harvest Festival favorite.

The Harvest Festival first began in 1928 as a way for the community to celebrate the end of the tobacco harvest.

Over the years, tobacco farming has become a less prominent feature of the landscape, but the tradition of holding a celebration carries on as families turn out for a weekend of food, games, shopping, entertainment and socializing.