By By Arthur McLean
Organizers and vendors alike agreed that this year's Williams Station Day was a success, despite the damage brought by Hurricane Ivan.
"I've enjoyed it here today, and though it wasn't looking very good early, we've done well today (Saturday). We'll be coming back," said Bret Argent, a water color artist from Thibodeaux, La. This was Argent's first year at Williams Station Day.
Other venders had similar stories of surprising sales and sales that beat last year for vendors who had returned to the festival.
Local artist Joel Lambert made his debut at Williams Station Day, and local fine art photographer and pastor Wesley Channell reported a strong day of sales for his prints.
"I think this year turned out better than we could have hoped," said Emilie Mims, Atmore Chamber of Commerce director.
Although the Chamber was still tallying the results of its effort, Mims said things were looking good for the festival. "I would say we did at least as well as last year. I thought the entertainment was outstanding."
One of the most popular items at Williams Station Day was the Survivin' Ivan T-shirts. All the adult sizes sold out by Saturday afternoon, and Mims is contemplating making another order if there is enough interest. "If we have enough people preorder, we might make another order of T-shirts," Mims said. "People can contact the chamber if they are interested in ordering."
"Williams Station Day is meant to be a promotion for the city, and we put a lot of our resources into that effort," Mims said. "Everyone seemed to be happy with Williams Station Day, and I want to thank everyone for helping and coming out."
Turn to page 13 for Williams Station Day pictures and result from the artists judging and pumpkin decorating contest. Results and stories from Saturday's 5K race will be in the Sunday edition of the Atmore Advance.