Keith Vandervort
ELY – “The real crusher was that Friday was so much fun,” said Adam Zins as he and his wife, Tanja, tried to untangle a wire shelving unit early Saturday morning from under a mangled tent. All around them, in the middle of Whiteside Park, was what remained of the Blueberry/Art Festival. “It looked like a war zone.”
A line of thunderstorms with damaging 70-mph winds driving torrential rains hit Ely at about 6:30 p.m. Friday night, just as the first leg of the three-day Blueberry/Art Festival was wrapping up.
The short but severe storm destroyed scores of arts vendors’ displays and tents, and uprooted big trees in the park, prompting Ely Chamber of Commerce officials late Friday to cancel the remainder of the 2021 festival.