‘‘We do accept donations but we're really just here to let the public relieve stress,” said Derek Bezy, the fire department's president, as he watched a teenager hit the passenger side doors of the donated car with a mallet.
Though the car bash, several moon bounces, a climbing wall and other activities at the festival were just recreational, some of the approximately 20 booths set up on a green near historic Carroll Baldwin Hall, the 86-year-old building that was once the home of the Savage branch library, presented festival-goers with chances to donate to charity and get educational experiences.
Howard County Public Libraries had a booth, where attendees could pick up age-appropriate summer reading lists and branch information and take a toy and car bumper magnets.
‘‘We're encouraging the kids to read books all summer,” said John Jewitt, teen services specialist for Howard County Public Libraries. The libraries are promoting reading along with their summer reading clubs, which are divided by age group and⁄or interests.
The Savage nonprofit foundation Bikers for Finding the Cure sold brightly colored hair extensions to raise money for the cancer treatment of local residents.
‘‘I went through breast cancer almost six years ago and I know what it's like to have no health insurance,” founder and Savage resident Wanda Hutson said. She raised more than $100 for her cause at the festival.
Also present at the festival, which was funded by donors including Savage Mill, Konterra Realty President and CEO Kingdon Gould III and the Savage Boys and Girls Club, was the Savage Historical Society. The group was seeking photos of World War II-era Savage residents, information that will go into a 2009 hanging calendar, said society member Flossie Doughty.
Baltimore and Philadelphia rock bands Northbound, Unsearchable Riches and Ashes Remain performed at the festival, and Savage restaurant Ma's Kettle sold French fries, funnel cakes and barbecue sandwiches. Savage Boy Scouts sold hot dogs and Sno-Cones.
‘‘Everybody comes so it's sort of a school event,” said Sarah Levin, a Savage seventh-grader who attends the festival every year with friends. ‘‘It's a lot of fun.”
E-mail Anath Hartmann at ahartmann@gazette.net
