For 20 years or so, I was tapped by the Pullman Chamber of Commerce to write and produce their radio commercials for The National Lentil Festival.

Held the third weekend in August each year, just prior to the beginning of the fall semester at Washington State University, the Lentil Festival was conceived as a way to bring “town” and “gown” together for food, fellowship, and fun. And the tiny legume, lens culinaris, was chosen as the festival’s raison d’être—simply because at that time, some 98% of the nation’s supply of lentils were grown in the Palouse. It made sense that the tiny, tasty lentil should be made the focal point of a new national festival.

The first National Lentil Festival took place in 1989, attracting some 4000 people to downtown Pullman. For 25 years or so, the Festival kicked off on Friday evening in downtown Pullman. Several blocks were closed to vehicular traffic to ensure a pedestrian friendly event. Vendor booths were set up along both sides of Olsen and Kamiaken Streets, funneling folks from the foot of College Hill into downtown Pullman. Drawn by the prospect of free lentil chili, live music, and the festive atmosphere of a street fair, thousands came to the celebration. Students were introduced to Pullman merchants, as well as churches, civic and charitable organizations, and a variety of service providers. It was a true community gathering of the highest order.

Saturday of Lentilfest weekends kicked off early with various activities, including bike races, a 5k fun run, and the Pullman Lion’s Club’s Lentil Pancake Breakfast. By mid-morning, large crowds gathered along Main Street to watch the Lentil Festival Grand Parade, always a highlight of the festival, particularly when the WSU Cougars Marching Band rounded the corner, alternately blasting out the Cougar Fight Song and Louie, Louie. At the end of the parade, the crowds migrated to Reaney Park for an afternoon of fair food, cooking demos, and more vendor booths.

In 2015, it was decided that the sole focal point of the festival would be Reaney Park, in part because vendors weren’t happy about having to pull up their downtown tents late Friday night and set them up again a half-mile away early Saturday morning. It made sense from the standpoint of more efficient logistics, but abandoning the downtown after so many years tore out a good chunk of the soul and spirit of the festival. That’s my take, anyway.

Going back to my opening thought, my principal involvement with the NLF was writing and producing the radio ads for it. I was given a lot of creative freedom and tried to make the ads reflect the fun of the festival. And when it came to voicing the spots, I often recruited the man with the most recognizable voice in town, Pullman Mayor Glenn Johnson, “voice of the Cougars” since 1980 and perhaps Pullman’s greatest cheerleader ever.

From time to time additional voices contributed to the Lentil Festival radio campaign, including WSU professor Charlie Bame-Aldred and the quirky Darci MacPherson, widely known in the community for the ads she voiced for AmericanWest Bank,Video Quest, and Snap Fitness.

Just for fun I’ve compiled below as many different examples of NLF radio commercials as I’ve been able to find. Most were a lot of fun to create and a few even won awards. Today, they simply make me smile. Perhaps they’ll have that effect on you, too.