By JACKIE MUNDT
Pratt County farmer and rancher
Insight Kansas
Our local Oktoberfest celebration took place a few weeks ago. This event is one of my favorite, and one of my biggest volunteer commitments. Everyone on the planning committee puts in a lot of time and effort with the sole purpose of raising money to better our community, and we have a great time doing it.
We have had great weather over the years for the event and bad weather was bound to hit us at some point; this year it hit us hard.
For the 10 days leading up to Oktoberfest, a bit of anxiety built as we watch rain dance in and out of the weather forecast. We explored options for moving the event but found that wouldn’t work with some of our licensing. We decided to move forward and hope for the best.
About an hour before the event’s start time law enforcement showed up to let us know straight-line winds of 60-plus miles per hour were headed our way. Before the squad car left the park, huge drops of rain were hitting us and the wind came up on us like a freight train.
Our crew rushed into action trying to salvage decorations and other light objects. Then some of our smaller tailgating size tents for tickets and the stage started to bend and break. We dashed through the rain to help the band get instruments loaded back in their vehicle to avoid further damage.
When there was no more that could be done we all took shelter under our only sturdy tent and waited out the rest of that down poor watching cascades of rain creating rivers and lakes throughout the park. It was clear the event would not be what we had hoped. It would have been easy to call the event off and admit defeat at this point.
However, the Oktoberfest committee has a very clear understanding that we make our community by raising money AND hosting a fun community event. We went into crisis management mode and talked through a lot of options for salvaging the event before settling on a plan.
When the first and high winds stopped, we sent out word to the community the event would look different but it would still happen. We invited people to join us for some fun in the rain. Amazingly, without a band or most of our activities we still had almost 300 people, which is a little less than half of our normal crowd, show up to raise a glass, grab dinner and join in an unforgettable Oktoberfest. We are so grateful that people showed up in less than ideal circumstances and make the best of a tough night.
Our misfortune was fairly small with everything happening in the world. People in western North Carolina are not worrying about the loss of their crops, property and roads, they are working to save their neighbors and help those in need. People with terminal illnesses are fighting for their lives while securing for the needs of their loved ones. People with big and small problems are finding ways to make their life and those around them better.
Life is full of unpredictable and often unpleasant circumstances. The only thing we can truly control is our reaction. You can choose to work toward solutions instead of focusing on everything that is going wrong. You can choose kindness, grace, forgiveness and optimism.
When there are storms in your life, will you call the game on account of rain or invite friends to join you in the rain?
"Insight" is a weekly column published by Kansas Farm Bureau, the state's largest farm organization whose mission is to strengthen agriculture and the lives of Kansans through advocacy, education and service.