ST. IGNATIUS — “Awesome.”

“Great.”

“Fun.”

Everyone whose mouth wasn’t curved into a smile or occupied with one of the watermelon eating contests kept using the same handful of superlatives to describe this year’s installment of Good Old Days - St. Ignatius’ traditional three-day marathon of summer fun.

From Friday through Sunday, everywhere you turned there was plenty of fun to be had.

While moms are generally right to insist that dessert be saved for last, on Friday night they made an exception to dinner’s cardinal rule, as the dessert baking contest kicked off this year’s festivities. In the adult division, Barb Strohman’s “cherries and berries on a cloud” narrowly edged Roxanne Whitworth’s apple pie to earn first place. Among entrants 17 years old and under, Genesis McCulley’s peanut butter pie took top honors.

Friday night’s lineup also included a barbecue, a free concert and a dazzling fireworks show that set the tone for the wild weekend ahead.

Things really got into full swing on Saturday. The Buffalo Run celebrated its 30th anniversary in the morning, and in its wake, the Good Old Days Parade - billed as the largest in Lake County- filled the streets.

But for many, the day was highlighted by the simple joy of the friendly competitions and kids activities held throughout the afternoon. Young attendees were run ragged by their free reign over inflatable bouncy houses and their participation in traditional fair games such as three-legged races, the water balloon toss, tug-of-war and many others.

The event even lent a new meaning to the term “dog days of summer” as man’s best friend took center stage for a chunk of Saturday afternoon during the dog races. Though numerous dogs had their proverbial day, Hunter and Madison Peterson’s dog Geicko distinguished himself in the “big dogs” division, recording the day’s fastest time and earning his second-straight title. The Peterson kids adopted Geicko after he was abandoned as a puppy, and have helped raise him into a champion.

The mud pit was certainly a highlight, based on the excitement of the dozens of kids wallowing in it during golf ball scavenger hunts and tug-of-war.

“Everybody’s havin’ a good time,” said John Jimerson, while watching kids embroiled in mud-soaked tug-of-war from a safe distance. “It’s all about the kids.”

Volunteer Janis Richter was faced with the monumental task of bringing law and order to the chaos of the mud pit.

“[It was] a little messy to say the least,” Richter said of her officiating.

It’s her tenth year helping out at Good Old Days, and she says that “making people happy every year” is what keeps her coming back.

For those in need of refreshments, there were plenty of places to buy food and drink, all while supporting terrific causes such as the local Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, and/or Parent-Teachers Organization (PTO).

PTO President Alyssa Schock described Good Old Days’ importance to the community as “huge.”

“It represents unity within our community,” she said.

“It’s great for us ‘cause we meet people who we wouldn’t throughout the rest of the year.”

Schock was strongly encouraged by this year’s attendance, noting that the turnout exceeded last year’s and had led to improved support for the PTO and other organizations.

“This is the best year in recent memory,” Schock added. “It’s revived!”