Everything from stormy weather and heavy downpours to cold, blustery winds did not stop participants from attending the 36th annual Calico Fort this past weekend in Fort Deposit.

Saturday morning proved to start out with beautiful sunshine, but the threat of severe weather soon caused the Fort to have to close by 2 p.m.

By late Saturday evening, Fort Deposit reported having trees down across roads and power lines down as a severe weather system moved across the state, sparking tornado watches and warnings all afternoon and well into the night.

By Sunday morning, a cold front had moved in, with winds from 20 to 30 miles per hour.

&#8220This year wasn't quite as good as we had hoped for, but it was better than it has been,” Frieda Cross, Fort Deposit Arts Council President, said. &#8220A lot of our diehard, faithful exhibitors stayed with us all weekend, as well as our faithful visitors, and that means a lot to us. When you've got that kind of combination of supportive people, you can't lose.”

Cross said that many of the exhibitors at Calico Fort had a wonderful Sunday morning after having to close things early Saturday afternoon.

&#8220They were well pleased with the way things went Sunday morning,” Cross added.

Cousins Justina Davison and TyKeyah Feginn enjoyed looking over the beautiful handcrafted candles created by Dave Rankin and his wife Jennifer from Birmingham. The couple owns the company &#8220Wildflower Wax.”

&#8220This wind has been really cold today, but we've had a good time,” Dave Rankin said. &#8220In fact, we just finished some hot chocolate, so we're okay.”

In the Saturday morning Calico Fort Dirt Road Race, Micah McCann of Fort Deposit won first place in his division, while his siblings Callie and Grace McCann won second place in each of their respective divisions. Micah, Callie and Grace are the children of Michael and Laura McCann of Fort Deposit.

On Sunday afternoon, Katie Hardin from McCalla, Ala., and Caitlin Jones and Ashley Jones of Wetumpka were having a great time sliding down the huge slide, all bundled up in their coats and hats and gloves, despite the cold temperatures.

Cross said that the next Calico Fort weekend is set for April 12 and 13, 2008, and weekend passes will be available ahead of time