Bandshell Community Park was the place to be in Austin Friday as Freedom Fest kicked off with nearly non-stop entertainment from 2 to 10:30 p.m., all in the backdrop of food, souvenirs, bounce houses and games.

If you headed out of town, here’s what you missed.

You missed Ethan Dulitz, 10, of Austin, hit 31 baskets on a mini basketball game after lunching on mini donuts, a corn dog and cheese curds.

You missed Doris Rice, a Freedom Fest volunteer, talk about the secret to winning a prize on the ring toss game she supervised.

“I let them keep going until they get one,” she said. “It’s fun seeing people have fun.”

A few moments later, you missed Max Hartson, 9, of Austin, win a red toothbrush.

“Amazing,” he said of the experience.

You missed Bridget’s Dance Conservatory pay tribute to the late-Michael Jackson with a rendition of “Thriller.”

You then missed the chance to purchase a black leather jacket, various swords, a rust-proof windspinner and any of the other merchandise sold by the festival’s numerous vendors.

You also missed the food, and those on a diet were in trouble.

Friday’s lineup included Piggy Blues serving up barbecue fare and baked potatoes.

Employee Jacob Dalager said business was steady even though, “it’s not quite dinner time.”

Other choices included pretzels smothered in cinnamon, “mudd pie,” pita sandwiches, funnel cakes, tacos, “macho nachos” and homemade ice cream.

One of the more popular menu items, of course, was the Spam Burger.

It wouldn’t be a Spamtown USA Freedom Fest without some sort of Spam offering.

Austin’s Tim Duren, owner of Cad Concessions, has been frequenting festivals for years. He’s fresh off working the Rochester Fest, where his Spam curds seemed more popular than the beer garden.

“They went really well,” he said.

On Friday, Duren was back to serving just the Spam Burger, but also offered brats and steak sandwiches.

“Good,” he said, of business only two hours into the festival. “We’ve probably sold more Spam Burgers than anything.”

“What’s the secret?” I asked.

“It’s a good burger,” he said. “We like to get them nice and crispy outside and get the cheese melted. And then everything is fresh, with tomatoes from our garden.

Duren, along with his business partner, have a lease agreement from Hormel to use the Spam name and logo. He’s a staple now at the Minnesota State Fair and will be back at the Mower County Fair this August.

Spam lovers were everywhere Friday.

Austin’s Marlene Lebarron savored a baked potato, talked about her fondness of Spam Burgers and admitted that, “they’re better when someone else makes them” besides herself.

Lebarron, instead, said her Spam specialty is a Spam spread, which she creates by grinding up the canned lunch meat, adding pickles and mayo and then serving it as an open-faced sandwich.

“Everybody loves it,” she said.

So there’s your rundown in case you missed it.

If you’re wishing you would have stayed here for the Fourth of July, not to worry. The Mower County Fair is right around the corner. It returns Aug. 11-16.

Until then, your diet is safe.