But by lunch time the crowd was big and growing thicker. People walked down Innes to Depot Street, many of them finishing free ice cream cones from O.O. Rufty’s new, soon-to-open market soda fountain.

Mommies pushing strollers, kids with painted faces, young women leading dogs on leashes, dads holding children by the hand, all moving slowly and mostly smiling, headed to the depot.

The thump of passing trains, the soft clang of the bell on the red, yellow and blue kids’ train, and the occasional squawk of a portable amplifier plus the aroma of hamburgers, onions, fried potatoes and hot dogs hung in the air, connecting all the events, indoors and out.

At 11 a.m. the children of the Salisbury Symphony Strings Program gave an enthusiastic performance on stage three, outdoors under the canopy next to the railroad tracks. They waited patiently once or twice for a train to pass so the audience could hear them.

Country singer Beth Geillespi complimented the audience on its attentiveness and Helen Doyle played an Appalachian lap dulcimer, calling it old time. ‘‘Anything that was big in my day is old time now,’’ she told the audience.

In the audience an elderly woman, escorted by a younger woman, nodded her head to John Henry. A man in shorts behind her wrestled with the problem of eating a hot dog all-the-way, tapping his foot and applauding, without spilling his drink.

Doyle swiped the dulcimer strings vigorously with a plastic pick and when she didn’t like the way she hit a final chord on one song, she said, ‘‘Well, let’s try that again,’’ and did it over, even though the audience was applauding.

Sound from the stage drifted across the outdoor vending area, where Ruth Booker was selling bonnets and holding her ears when trains went by. She eyed a plate heaped with ribbon fries – something like fresh potato chips – and dipped in right away when offered some.

Inside, in the demonstration area, Ann Brownless interrupted her weaving demonstration to chomp into a burger with onions. ‘‘It smells better than it tastes,’’ she said, in the universal complaint of those who let festivals entice them to go outside their usual diets.

Jackie Torrence, dressed for festivity in a billowing red blouse and brightly patterned skirt, drove her motored cart from one display to the next, sharing hugs with kids and greetings with adults, leaving them all smiling.

As the day went on, it was hard to find a kid without a painted face and a balloon critter or an adult without a hot dog in one hand and a blue cup of soda or tea in the other. Programs and demonstrations continued as people came and went.

The grownups didn’t yell. The dogs didn’t bark. The kids didn’t cry.

A good time was had by all. Today’s activities at the depot: