Despite a gloomy forecast, Main Street was bustling in Windsor Friday evening.

The Adam McMahon Trio opened the music stage with a rendition of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” A brief downpour caused a scramble for cover, but the rain soon let up and people resumed ambling along, enjoying a wide array of food offerings, activities, craft sales and roving street performers.

“This is so much fun!” said a smiling Gannon Dellinger, enjoying his first Autumn Moon Festival .

Dellinger, 21, of Windsor, and his friend Anna Nulton, 23, of Norwich, were standing on the fringes of a crowd of some 200 people at the Impulse Wrestling ring.

Despite being a resident, Dellinger said his work schedule had kept him away from the festival until last week, but he’s definitely glad he came.

The annual event is hosted by the Rotary Club of Windsor.

Closer in, the ringside atmosphere was more intense.

“Y’all might as well bow down to me because I’m the king of Windsor Vermont!” boomed wrestling performer Johnny Pierce from his perch atop the corner ropes.

The hyperbole earned him a chorus of loud boos from the largely pre-teen crowd.

“I hate that guy so much!” said Ben Smolnik’s six-year-old daughter, referring to Pierce.

Smolnik, 30, of Claremont, and his son and daughter are wrestling fans and fierce partisans of Windsor native Mica Roberts, whose stage name is Owen Brody.

“It’s a hundred percent entertainment,” said Roberts, 39, who co-founded Impulse Wrestling in 2019 with partner Rob Philibert of Croyden, N.H. The wrestlers, he explained, are all trained professionals from throughout New England.

Roberts-as-Owen-Brody was the clear crowd favorite as he swaggered to the ring accompanied by Coolio’s “Gangster’s Paradise” and wild cheering.

“It hurts a lot, but it’s fun,” he said,

Making their way through the crowd offering Halloween candy and information, Karen Lavoie and Megan Gaudette hoped to raise awareness about the services offered by Windsor-based Connecticut Valley Addiction Recovery, Inc.

“People don’t always know that we’re here,” said Lavoie, and she wants residents to know that in addition to treatment services for all kinds of addiction, their offices in Windsor and White River Junction provide resources including Narcan and fentanyl test strips.

The atmosphere and the Kids Zone on the Village Green was decidedly more low-key than the wrestling venue but no less fun. Children enjoyed more traditional festival activities such as bouncy castles, face painting, and the chance to conduct science experiments with the Montshire Museum Science Lab and build creative “contraptions” to test in a see-through wind tube.

On Main Street there was a booster-ish feeling of celebration for Windsor itself, as crowds enjoyed the eclectic array of entertainment, crafts, and merchandise, much of it in the service of fundraising for local organizations.

“I love this town!” said Jessica Beah, of Cornish, who calls herself a “football mom.” “I’ve never felt more welcome anywhere in my life than in Windsor.”

Beah’s son attends Windsor High School, and she was on hand to help raise funds for “Project Grad,” which provides local high school students with a safe, alcohol-free graduation celebration each year.

Kathryn Grover, representing the Windsor Historical Society, celebrated the recent publication of her new book “Windsor’s Warsaw: The History of a Workers’ Neighborhood.” The book, funded in part by Mascoma Bank and the US Department of the Interior, tells the story of how the construction and ownership of company housing by the Windsor Machine and National Acme companies helped shape the Jarvis Street neighborhood and the lives of the workers who lived there, many for generations.

Executive Director Jonathan Nichols and board member Kurt Dermody of Ascutney Outdoors (AO) were on hand with a mission to encourage Windsor residents to take advantage of the many recreational opportunities on Mt. Ascutney.

“We want to bring more people to the mountain,” said Dermody. “It’s an affordable place to learn to ski and snowboard.”

A Brownsville resident, Dermody encourages adults to come out this winter and volunteer at the tubing lift, or at special pre-season volunteer days. “It’s a lot of fun and a way to meet great people,” he said.

On the lawn behind the Windsor Diner, Zak Silva, 36, of Manchester, N.H., smiled as he watched a young boy’s two-handed overhead throw nearly land a bulls-eye to the cheers of onlookers. “This is what I love to see,” he said. “I like engaging with people who are new to the sport.”

Silva, the owner of RelAXE Throwing, took to the sport a few years ago with the zeal of a convert.

“After my first day, I had a standing reservation every Sunday,” he laughed, explaining that he especially loves the camaraderie and sense of community as much as the competition. “Most customers are nervous” when they first try to throw an axe, but according to Silva, somewhere between ten and fifteen percent of first-timers end up participating in the sport more regularly.

Supporting the ax throwing concession, the Windsor Coon Hunters Association hoped to raise funds to support their summer youth conservation camp, ice fishing derbies, and other programming, according to Heather Gokey whose son, Bill is the president of the association.

And inside the now-closed Bistro Midva, the mood was bittersweet as Arlanda Erzen served drinks while friends and neighbors stopped by to chat.

The crowds remained steady along Main Street throughout the evening, dancing to the live music, enjoying impromptu performances, and catching up with friends.