Covered bridges are cause for celebration

ROCKVILLE, Ind. -- Parke County's claim to fame is covered bridges, but taste-tempting country cooking and friendly, encouraging words from the amicable residents make repeat visits to this annual event a must for thousands of families nationwide.\n"Two million people can't be wrong," said Griffin resident Carrie L. Browne who, along with two friends, will be making her 17th pilgrimage to the Covered Bridge Festival that begins Friday and lasts until Oct. 20.\n"You can shop till you drop, eat your way around the Rockville Square and then drive out to a pastoral scene and through a covered bridge," Browne said.\nIt's kind of like one-stop shopping with a bonus of great home-cooked foods, she added.\n"The only time you'll see a traffic jam in Parke County is during the festival," William Jeffers, Parke County commissioner, has said of the 10-day period when Parke County Inc., bridge festival host, boasts the visitor count exceeds 2 million.\nFree maps of covered bridge tour routes and locator maps through 400 square miles of countywide activities are available at Covered Bridge Festival headquarters on the Rockville Square.\nThe Parke County Covered Bridge Festival, considered Indiana's largest festival, started 46 years ago when a handful of residents set up a couple of tables on the courthouse lawn.\nThey had something special to attract travelers along U.S. 36 that couldn't be bought in stores.\nThese rural people offered jars of homemade jams, jellies, breads and cookies as well as a small farmers market where squash, pumpkins and Indian corn made a colorful display.\nThis one weekend in October soon grew to two weekends and later to a full 10 days of fun and adventure.