Aug. 23--Saturday's rain fell mainly on McCain.

Singer-songwriter Edwin McCain's evening performance at Festival Park was canceled because of a thunderstorm.

McCain was the headline act of the first-ever Rock 'n' Run Fest, a benefit event for the Highlands Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Coming down in proverbial buckets, the rain -- mixed in with healthy doses of thunder and lightning -- drenched the crowd approximately 30 minutes prior to McCain's scheduled 8 p.m. performance.

The formidable downpour relented roughly 45 minutes later, but officials had already called off the show. Only a few dozen people remained, sheltered beneath the VIP tent.

Brief rains earlier in the day similarly sent crowds skittering.

"It looked fine after it rained the first time," said 10k participant Christine Iegler, who also ran in last year's race. "It's too bad."

Iegler was one of several hundred runners in the 10k, 5k and 1-mile races that began at 7:30 a.m.

The Rock 'n' Run Fest was to have been the third annual Run for the Red race. But organizers added more entertainment, including performances by McCain, The Embers and The Breakfast Club, and renamed the daylong event.

Among the other attractions were a second concert stage in the Festival Park Plaza parking lot, a bevy of food and refreshment vendors, and an inflatable water-park area, which featured three small- to medium-sized water slides and one large one.

The water park was one of the fest's most popular attractions, with small lines of kids forming at each slide. The warm temperatures certainly didn't hurt matters.

Riders -- or sliders, as it were -- could pay a buck a ride or $5 for an all-day ride ticket.

"This has been the best $10 I've ever spent," said Kerstin Ramus, who bought each of her two daughters -- 11-year-old Christel-Ann and 5-year-old Emma-Louise -- an all-day water-slide ticket.

"They've been having a great time. We've spent several hours here," said Ramus, who traveled from Savannah, Ga., to attend the Rock 'n' Run Fest.

"I think it's great," Ramus said of the race and subsequent festivities. "It's great for kids, and the weather's been tolerable. It's what the last days of summer are all about."

This summer, August in particular, seems to be all about thunderstorms, as evidenced by the bruised and brooding skies that hovered above Festival Park all day, threatening to deluge the small army of blue- and red-shirted Red Cross volunteers who often outnumbered the Fest guests.

That did little to deter Terry and Monique Fowler, though.

"We came for The Embers," said Monique. "We try to see them any time they're in town."

"They always put on a great show," added Terry.

The Fayetteville couple, armed with umbrellas and lawn chairs, said they also looked forward to McCain's performance, and had enjoyed his appearance at the 2005 Dogwood Festival.

"Most importantly," Monique added, "we just wanted to come out and support what's going on in Fayetteville."

The Fowlers' umbrellas came in handy around 4 p.m., as the first rains arrived not long after The Embers finished singing "Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy."

The sputter of quick showers sent lawn-sitters, water park sliders and Plaza promenade walkers alike scrambling for trees and tents.

The rain, however, retreated as quickly as it had advanced, leaving brighter, bluer skies and slightly cooler temperatures in its wake. Crowds continued to trickle in as the evening waxed and the afternoon waned, encouraged by the better weather.

A bit of a break from Mother Nature was all The Breakfast Club needed. The '80s tribute band tried to get the remnants of the crowd back into the spirit of the day with tunes such as Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone," "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," by The Eurythmics, and "Everybody Have Fun Tonight," by Wang Chung.

A more fitting note to the evening, however, may have been "Purple Rain."

Staff writer Brian Dukes can be reached at dukesb@fayobserver.com or 486-3523.

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