A different kind of diversity

Every now and again Knoxvillians feel the winds of change calling. Usually at the start of the summer season they sing out, beckoning us to get the heck out of Dodge, if even for a day trip. Sometimes leaving Knoxville is just as important as taking a stroll through Market Square in helping us realize what a gem Knoxville is.


For my first summer excursion I chose to head south on I-75 to Dayton, TN. Every May the folks in Dayton have their now famous Strawberry Festival. Now you may remember Dayton as the site of the historical Scopes Monkey Trial, but be not fooled, in May it's all about the strawberries. 


The festival is technically a week-long event, but my partner-in-crime and I decided to hit up the culmination of a weeks festivities. We drove down on Saturday just in time for the parade (well, just in time to grab a corn dog, funnel cake and a front row seat in between some senior citizens).


Our expectations were pretty high for this event. The night before we watched the mocumentary Drop Dead Gorgeous about a small-town beauty pageant in the Midwest. We knew what we were getting into, and expected a show both on and off the parade route. 

Needless to say, all our expectations were met if not exceeded. From the beauty queen (first of many) who started the parade with her ride in a muddied Hummer to the bloated man in a blazer running for State Senate riding in the back of a vintage convertible, it was perfect. 


It was great to get out of town for the day and be surrounded with people who have different priorities and operate at a slower pace. Now, clearly my investigation of these people goes only so deep-its easy for me to assign a certain belief/priority set to someone wearing jean shorts and a well-coiffed mullet.
 

Surely we are not that different, but for this writer, sweeping generalizations pretty much do the trick. 


My only regret was the fact that there were not more out-of-towners there sneaking a peek at small town life. I know the Strawberry Festival doesn't need to be overrun with self-important hipsters taking pictures of mullets (I think two is enough), but I do urge everyone to take the effort and experience a fascinating and refreshing kind of diversity offered just outside the city limits.