Area communities managed to squeeze every last bit of fun out of this summer right before school started Tuesday.

Between the Martinsburg Picnic, Soybean Festival and Mexico Summer Jam, area residents were spoiled for choice when it came to making weekend plans. Martinsburg’s 124th annual community picnic and Mexico’s Soybean Festival were held Friday and Saturday. The first Mexico Summer Jam started Saturday night at 6 p.m., and the party lasted until 4 a.m. Sunday morning.

Despite there being so many events happening, Derek Clithero, a member of the Mexico Jaycees, said Saturday’s crowd at the Soybean Festival was the biggest he had ever witnessed. 

“I think this is the most busy we have seen downtown here at this time,” he said. 

Saturday’s Soybean Festival parade wound through downtown Mexico just an hour before Martinsburg’s parade, yet both were well-attended and there were plenty of participants in both lineups.

For Mexico, Clithero suspected the biggest draws on Saturday were the cornhole tournament and car show. He estimated that 22 cornhole teams competed on Saturday afternoon.

“I think last year we had like five teams,” Clithero said.

Clithero added that the Jaycees usually take a small break from manning the beer garden around noon, but this year, there were simply too many people to step away.

This year, the Jaycees welcomed more vendors, a bigger carnival, and added new artists to the entertainment lineup. 

On Friday night, the Jaycees welcomed Jarrod Turner and Jacob Smalley to the Graf & Sons stage Friday night. Monica Austin, a familiar name at the Soybean Festival, opened Saturday night. She was followed by a new up-and-coming county artist, Cam Cummings of Thorsby, Alabama.

While Saturday was busier than ever, Clithero said Friday night at the festival was a bit slow.

“I think the jamboree being out of town hurt us there, or everybody was waiting for Saturday because they knew they were going to be here all day,” he said.

But there was no shortage of activity in Martinsburg Friday night with opening night competitions including the baby show, look alike contest, biggest beard contest, turtle and frog races, and the Super Farmer contest.

All in all, Clithero said this year’s Soybean Festival ran smoothly, and it was a great year thanks to some good weather.

Molly Deimeke with Martinsburg Area Community Betterment agreed the weather made a big difference this year, but she still hopes to host the picnic on a different weekend than the Soybean Festival next year. Every August, the Soybean Festival is held on the fourth Saturday while the Martinsburg Picnic is the third full weekend, so this year’s overlap was simply a coincidence.

“Hopefully next year we will be back on track,” Deimeke said.