Only a few final details remained Friday in the yearly process of transforming Baldwin City from a quiet university town of about 5,000 to the host of an annual fall festival that draws crowds numbering from 30,000 to 40,000.

Temporary no-parking signs lined streets in the old-town area, craft booth sites had been marked, tents for entertainment and vendors pitched and rides of Toby’s Carnival assembled in the southern Douglas County city 4 miles east of the intersection of U.S. Highways 56 and 59.

All that preparation pays off today and Sunday with the 57th annual Maple Leaf Festival. Although the carnival officially opened the festival Friday evening, the real action starts at 9 a.m. today when the arts and crafts booths and food vendors open for business.

In past years, the festival’s peak has always followed the end of the Maple Leaf Festival Parade, with the theme this year of “Follow the Maple Leaf Road.” The parade, which starts at 11 a.m. at Second and High streets, travels east to Sixth Street, then north to Chapel Street, is expected to be about 45 minutes long.

Those who want to enjoy the festival but want to avoid the peak crunch can come in the late afternoon before the festival closes down at 6 p.m. today or take in the festival from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Maple Leaf Festival Committee craft booth chairwoman Donna Curran said vendors snatched up the last of the 320 arts and crafts sites available months ago. With daytime highs in the 60s and sunny skies forecast, organizers are anticipating attendance to land somewhere between the 30,000 and 40,000 of recent festivals, she said.

With all the activity downtown, out-of-town visitors are strongly encouraged to use park-and-ride lots available at the town’s two elementary schools and its junior high and high school campus. Signage on U.S. Highway 56 and County Road 1055 will direct motorists to the lots. Community groups run the lots, charging from $5 to $10 for the service.

Saturday

• Craft and food booths, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., downtown Baldwin City

• Toby’s carnival, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., 800 block of High Street

• Maple Leaf Quilt Show, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Baldwin City Elementary School Intermediate Center

• Maple Leaf Parade, 11 a.m., High and Sixth streets

• Black Jack guided tours: Black Jack Battlefield and Nature Center, 4 miles east of Baldwin City on U.S. Highway 56, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Cabin tours at roadside park on U.S. 56, 9 a.m. through 4 p.m. noon to 9 p.m.

• County music entertainment: Noon to 9 p.m., tent in 700 block of High Street

Sunday

• Craft and food booths, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., downtown Baldwin City

• Toby’s carnival, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 800 block of High Street

• Maple Leaf Quilt Show, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Baldwin City Elementary School Intermediate Center

• County music entertainment, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Noon to 9 p.m., tent in 700 block of High Street