WILGUS -

Colton Pritchard, 10, of Woodsville, circled the wagon of pumpkins Saturday, looking for just the perfect orb.

"He loves to come here," said Kathy Pritchard, his stepmother. "We try to get him down here every year. He wants some molasses to take back. There is an older lady who makes him cookies."

Pumpkins and molasses were both in bounteous supply this weekend as the Lawrence County Draft Horse Association had its 18th annual Sorghum Festival.

"The club started this as a heritage thing to show how people did things years ago," association member Linda Fuller said as she watched her husband, George, stir a trough of bubbling sorghum juice that, in a couple hours time, would be

a favorite local treat.

As she eyed the tent nearby where crafters sold their wares, Linda Fuller reminisced about the early days.

"When we first started we didn't have any tents," she said. "I think I was probably the only person selling crafts and I sold them out of the back of my car on a bale of hay. Now, the festival has also become a social event.

"They bring their chairs or pull up a bale of hay and socialize. It's kind of like the county fair," she said.

For Steve Mills of Grove City and his daughters, Brooke and Heather, Saturday was their first time ever at the festival. They brought along Steve's mother, Jo Ellen Mills of Wayne, W.Va.

"We stopped at a yard sale and they told us about this festival,"

Steve Mills said as he watched his daughters at the petting zoo.

"They love animals. Anytime they can pet something, they're happy."

Organizers hesitated to estimate the number of people who attend the two-day event each year, since there is no admission fee and site is wide open for people to come and go as they please.

The festival ends today.