Clay Plant Pottery asks Parke County to name studio an official Covered Bridge Festival site

Courtney Colt, owner of Clay Plant Pottery, asked the Parke County commissioners to add her pottery studio as an official site for this year’s Parke County Covered Bridge Festival. Colt said the studio would be open for the full 10-day festival and expected vendor participation to grow from about 15 last year to roughly 30 committed vendors this year, with potential to reach about 50.

Chair (Chair) and other commissioners expressed support for expanding festival locations but said they need objective criteria before approving an out‑of‑town site. Commissioners asked Colt to propose written standards that would allow consistent decisions, such as minimum vendor counts, requirements for portable toilets, traffic and public‑safety plans, and marketing rules for being included in official festival materials.

Courtney Colt said her site would include tents and trailers and that she and her husband have hosted vendors in prior years; she asked that the commission consider locations outside incorporated towns if they meet the criteria for designation. The commission noted prior examples of out‑of‑town locations being included in festival maps and said the county must ensure that any added sites are explainable to all participants and fair to towns that already host official sites.

The board asked staff and Colt to work on a proposed set of criteria and return for consideration at the next meeting. The most recent action was consensus to have Colt present suggested criteria rather than making a formal designation at today’s meeting.