Cider Days

Welcome

Photo Credit: Sensorial Wanderer, September 17, 2023

Last weekend, my partner and I went to Cider Days. Cider Days is one of many fall festivals in southwest Missouri. It takes place on the historic Walnut Street in Springfield. This location is in close proximity to downtown Springfield and Missouri State University. It's held the third weekend of September each year, making it among the first of the fall festivals.

I actually had never been to Cider Days, but I've been to many of the festivals held on Walnut Street. My partner is a recent transplant from Florida, and he's never been to a Walnut Street festival. The street is closed down between John Q. Hammons Parkway and National Avenue, with tickets sold at entrance tents at each end. There are over 100 tents with local artists displaying and selling their works, local stores selling their good, and restaurants and food trucks selling food. Three stages were set up throughout the event area with local musicians and dance troupes performing for the entertainment of event-goers. And of course, there were tents selling cider.

We found a parking lot taking donations to a local youth group about a block west of the entrance at John Q. Hammons Parkway. Another parking lot was available a bit closer for a fee of $10. We arrived about 30 minutes after opening, and there was already a moderate crowd. We spent an hour and a half walking the length of the festival area, perusing the tents and grabbing a bite to eat for lunch.

I have been in a heightened state of anxiety for the past few months, so I'm quick to experience sensory overwhelm. It makes it difficult to enjoy anything, even my favorite hobbies. My first anxiety with Cider Days was about parking. This is pretty typical for events like outdoor festivals, where parking tends to be an issue. Luckily, we found a parking lot fairly quickly. My other issue with parking had to do with the type of lot we found. Since we hadn't seen other lots with set fees prior to entering, I wasn't sure what was an appropriate amount to pay. I had to go with something I thought was not too little, but also didn't hurt my budget. This is one of those social things that I don't always get right.

Being outdoors, the lighting was natural. It was a cloudless day, so it was pretty bright. This lighting was not overwhelming to me. There were so many booths to see and so many people around, which was a bit overwhelming. Luckily, I'm fairly comfortable with walking by booths that don't interest me as much, which helps a lot.

With that many people and the stages with musicians, there was a lot to hear. I experience auditory processing issues and misophonia, so auditory input is frequently what causes a meltdown for me. It wasn't to that point, but it was definitely causing some stress.

The temperature was very comfortable. At noon when we left, it was a pleasant 72 degrees Fahrenheit. I didn't touch much, so I don't have a lot to say about the textures I felt. The surfaces we walked on were rough street, the concrete curbs, and the grass and dirt of yards.

Overall, there was a general outdoor smell. I could smell the aroma of food as we approached the food booths. And of course, the aroma of apple cider at the cider booths. These were also where you could engage your sense of taste. We ate lunch and purchased one cold cider and one spiced hot cider. My lunch was disappointing to me, so I am not going to say much about it. I'm not including the names of restaurants because I am not a food critic. I do not want to say anything negative about a specific business. I will say that my displeasure over my lunch was absolutely due to texture, not flavor. We both sampled each of the apple ciders we got. He preferred the cold cider while I preferred the spiced hot cider.

There was not a lot that I perceived to affect the vestibular sense. There were uneven surfaces, but it was mostly flat. I did not have any issues.

The orientation of the booths and other objects definitely affects proprioception. The amount of people in the crowd does, as well. As we neared the end of our time there, the size of the crowd began to bother me. There was very little shelter or space available to provide relief from the sense of feeling exposed. There were just a few tables and chairs for people eating lunch, and the spacing of them contributed to some anxiety. I did leave feeling overwhelmed from this sense due to the crowd and feeling exposed.

There was not too much to affect interoception, except the aroma of food and cider might cause someone to feel hungry. Porta potties were available, but I'm not sure if there were any indoor restrooms available at any of the businesses located along that section of Walnut Street. I would guess they were only open to customers.

Overall, I'd say it was proprioception that did it for me. There was little from the rest of my senses to contribute to overwhelm. I am happy that I managed to walk the entire length of the festival area and at least scan each booth. I would have preferred to take a little more time and explore more art, but I just wasn't able to do so on this visit. I still enjoyed it and would absolutely recommend Cider Days to anyone interested.

There are a few other fall festivals I hope to attend this year. I was limited in my enjoyment of Cider Days due to my sensory overwhelm, so I'm taking the time to think about what tools I might need to take along to the next one. My favorite fidgets might help. I prefer the keychain fidgets and a squishable animal figure. I should probably also make sure to bring both pairs of earplugs I own.

Cider Days,

Photo Credit: Sensorial Wanderer, September 17, 2023