North Webster Lions Club members, from left, Dave Dishman, Derik Green, Ben Lauber and Mark Lawson, take a break from selling their popular burgers during the 11th annual Dixie Day Festival, held Saturday, July 27. (Photo by Keith Knepp)

NORTH WEBSTER — Compared to last Saturday’s temperatures that reached into the mid-90s with a heat index in the 100s, the weather for the 11th annual Dixie Day Festival seemed ideal on a July afternoon in northern Indiana.

The popular summertime event is put on annually by the North Webster Tippecanoe Chamber of Commerce.

Hundreds of people converged on North Webster for the celebration, which began at 8 a.m. with a breakfast at the fire department and the always popular Dixie Dash 5K.

As the early morning events concluded, the rest of the festival was just getting started. Many of the attendees grabbed their favorite foods from the numerous local food vendors, which included some of the area’s service clubs, before they strolled down West Washington Street to check out the car, truck, bike and tractor show, which featured a variety of vintage vehicles and farm equipment on display.

The vintage snowmobile show that usually takes place on the Mermaid Grounds was a no-show this year, which reportedly came as a surprise to the event’s organizers.

Antique lovers of all ages enjoyed the offerings at the 11th annual Dixie Day Festival.

On the grounds in front of the prominent Pilcher’s Shoes building was the popular artisan and craft fair. Across Main Street was the open air market and the antique and novelty tent sale.

Naturally, the famous Dixie Boat sternwheeler was offering cruises on beautiful Webster Lake. The Dixie will offer evening sails later this evening at 6 p.m. 7:30 p.m. and a twilight cruise with Cap’n Bob, “The Singing Skipper” at 9 p.m.