Makeshift splash pad a popular spot at Gloversville Railfest

PHOTOGRAPHER: Peter R. Barber

Seth Vannostrand, 8, cools off in the spray from a Gloversville fire truck at Railfest in Gloversville on Saturday, Aug. 7, 2021.

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The sun was beating down Saturday as dozens of people streamed in and out of Railfest in Gloversville.

However, the Gloversville Fire Department parked one of its rigs in an open lot and turned on the sprayers, quickly creating a makeshift splash pad.

“It makes me feel nice and cooled off,” said Zelda Rubscha, 7, as she splashed around.

Rubscha ran over to her grandmother Lynne Rubscha smiling and soaking wet. She asked her grandma for just one more minute in the cool water.

Her grandma knew it would be more like five or 10 minutes, but she didn’t mind.

Many of the kids could either be found in the bouncy house or enjoying the fire department’s sprayers.

Saturday’s high was 81, according to the National Weather Service. However, factor in the humidity and it felt much warmer. The weather is going to continue to remain on the hot side as temperatures stay in the 80s through the week.

Lynne Rubscha said her granddaughter loved the water, so it was nice the fire department offered this activity to the kids. She and her family have been coming almost every other year to the festival. She was happy to see it was back this year after being canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic.

“It’s good for the community, “ she said, noting a lot of hard work must go into planning the event.

She also said the organizers of the festival do a great job of providing a variety of activities for people every year. In 2019, she said, her grandson loved the electric bull that was set up for people to ride.

Joining Zelda Rubscha at the makeshift splash pad were several other children and their parents, including Corey Tessier, who was holding his 3-year-old son Carter Tessier as his 8-year-old son Seth Vannostrand and twin 6-year-old daughters Alexis and Aleah Tessier all ran around in the water.

“I think it’s awesome,” Corey Tessier said smiling as his son ran up hair sticking to his head and water droplets falling from his face. “I think this is the best part on a day like this.”

Both he and Tim Clark, who was watching his 6-year-old daughter Maddison Clark stand under the sprayer, said Railfest is a great affordable family event.

“It’s nice to take her out and do something that’s not super expensive,” Clark said.

As Tessier took his children to get food, Clark looked back at his daughter who was still smiling as she ran around in the water.

“I’ll never get her out of there,” he said.

Back over under the shade, Ashleigh Downes watched as her 9-year-old daughter Lexis Downes played various games with another girl. Ashleigh Downes said she did not know the other girl’s name but the two were having a blast, smiling as they checked out games like bean bag toss, giant Jenga, giant Connect Four and even a giant bowling game set up near the stage where a duo played music.

‘It’s just a fun family event,” Downes said, noting she liked seeing all the different vendors selling everything from food to jewelry.

She said her daughter also loved the water from the fire department truck, but that there was also nothing like cooling off in the shade with a nice cup of cold lemonade.