The rains ended late Thursday, and by Friday morning the sky was clear and blue and the crisp air was clearly that of a fall day.

Never in it’s entire 32 year history had the Foothills Festival enjoyed a more perfect weekend of autumn weather. Many prior weekends might have been just as picture perfect, but none could have been any more perfect.

With bright sun both days, highs in the mid 70s and a crispness in the night air as the temperatures dropped to the mid 40’s, Foothills attire changed from short sleeved shirts and short pants, to long jeans and sweatshirts and even light jackets.

In short – it was a perfect fall weekend for a celebration, and Clinton County celebrated the fall season, and the coming and going of the 32nd Foothills Festival in full force.

Hundreds and hundreds of fans came to Albany to enjoy the sights, sounds and tastes of yet another Foothills Festival last weekend, and along the way, old friends were found and new friends were made, and more memories were tucked away in the form of Foothills Festival experiences.

From Friday’s nearly hour-long parade, to the Saturday afternoon Lip Sync contest that might have been somewhat lighter than normal in the number of acts but certainly not in its level of entertainment, the 2011 Foothills Festival kept the crowd, young and old and in between, on the move for two solid days.

Queens were crowned, pumpkin carvers were judged, as were floats, wagons and antique vehicles. Pies were critiqued and scarecrows were picked as winners. For two days, participants and fans came together to enjoy a host of events, contests and entertainment.

Then there was the food – and, oh, the food was plentiful, and varied. From grilled chicken to fried Oreos and practically everything in between, the Foothills Festival Food Court was a center of attraction throughout the weekend.

If the crowds were milling about trying to make up their mind as to what the next selection would be to hit the palette, they were sitting and talking, enjoying the aroma of the surrounding smoke rising from the host of food vendors, or just sitting at the tables, catching up with some old friends or enjoying the stories being told by new friends.

By late Saturday night, arts and crafts vendors, many with nearly sold out shelves, were packing in their tent roofs and loading up their remaining wares, while crews picked up trash and cleaned the streets, getting the area ready for the return of “business as usual” again on Monday morning.

On Monday night, the members of the 2011 Foothills Festival Committee were slated to meet – sharing ideas and input from the most recent weekend party and putting together the first notes that will eventually become the schedule for the next time we all gather on the courthouse square for the 33rd Foothills Festival and do it all over again.

Throughout the pages of this week’s Clinton County News, we offer a host of photographs made last weekend – although just a small percentage of the nearly 2000 total made by photographers Al Gibson and Brett Gibson – to give our readers one last look and bring back the memories of yet another successful Foothills Festival.

We hope you enjoy this week’s coverage, and we’re sure that, like us at the Clinton County News, you are looking forward to the weekend some 51 weeks from now when we’ll gather around the square to once again celebrate the arrival of another autumn season, and yet another Foothills Festival, and we invite all of the world to . . .

Come See It Our Way!