Sugar rush

STUARTS DRAFT — Riding from Bath County to Stuarts Draft Park for Sweet Dreams Day on Saturday, Nick Gibson and Zach Whitmore, both 9, ate more than their fair share of store-bought beef jerky.

But those Slim Jim’s could not compare to what they found from a local vendor.

“I love Slim Jim’s and that thing was even better,” said Whitmore, who watched his friend posing for a caricature drawing.

For the boys and Michelle Gibson, it was their first time at Sweet Dreams.

“They played laser tag twice already and they’re going back for a third round,” Michelle Gibson said, pointing to one of the most popular areas of the festival, a field where kids ran and crawled with laser guns all afternoon.

The annual fair grew again this year, attracting vendors of handmade bags, hats, jewelry and toys. Multiple booths sold dog toys and treats, and the smell of barbecue pervaded the air near food stands where lines grew for sno-cones and Italian ice. Bands played on the main stage, which also hosted contests for hot dog eating and bubble gum bubble blowing.

“Three years ago it was only half of what it is now,” said Kirk Gray, of Staunton.

He waved and called to his 3-year-old daughter as she circled on a flying swing children’s ride. She called back and pointed as her multi-colored ponytail flew behind her. One booth offered hair coloring for kids, and many took up the offer, choosing blue or green or Mohawk stripes and glitter.

At the end of one line of tents, members of the Boy Scouts of America launched water rockets.

“We’re trying to get the furthest out there,” said Charlie Baumbach, 11, as a friend made a camera phone video and a little girl yelled with excitement as a plastic pop bottle took flight.

A Hershey’s Kiss mascot walked the crowds, offering fist bumps and handshakes, and often catching hugs from youngsters. Also parked on site was the Hershey’s Kissmobile, sporting three 8-foot-tall Hershey’s Kisses. A puppy kept cool beneath the Kissmobile, just below the cruiser’s refrigerated compartment, packed with chocolates.

Also popular was a rock climbing wall, the tallest that Brandon Kiser, 10, of New Hope, had ever seen.

“I was too big for rides,” he said after climbing to the top and returning to the ground. “But this was fun.”

It was Kiser’s first time at the festival, but a question to his dad showed he was hooked: “Can we do it again next year?”