The attractions were as cool as the temperatures for Saturday's opening of the Snellville Days festival.

All along the misty midway, the festival offered the visionary as well as the vintage.

John Amis/SPECIAL (ENLARGE)

A border collie named Rocket jumps over his fellow saucer spinning enthusiast Mark Muir as the pair give a disk catching exhibition during Snellvile Days Saturday May 5.

John Amis/SPECIAL (ENLARGE)

A crowd fills the aisle as they make their way around various crafts and vendor booths during Snellvile Days Saturday May 5.

A robot tried to talk a kid out of his lollipop.

One family got all their heads decorated with day-glow spray paint.

One guy brought his own inflatable palm tree.

And where else could you feast your eyes on a bullet-nosed Studebaker?

Festival organizers said the unseasonably cool day probably contributed to a slight decline in opening-day attendance compared to last year, when the festival drew about 25,000 visitors over the weekend.

Those who did come, however, saw some things they definitely don't get to see every day.

Six-year-old Brady Penn was taken aback when the robot wearing a police officer's hat started to chat with him.

"Nice to meet you, Brady. I wish I could have a sucker like yours," said NG (Next Generation) 1, an educational and promotional robot offered by its creators at Monroe-based 21st Century Robotics.

"How does he do that?" asked Brady's grandmother, Mirtha Chambers of Lawrenceville.

Brady wondered the same thing, but no way was he giving up his candy.

Karen Paul, who was putting NG1 through its paces for festival-goers, said the main use for the mild-mannered Robocop is to present anti-crime programs to school kids.

"Our statistics tell us that kids retain 10 times more material from the robot than from a regular person," she said.

At the Hair Cuttery booth further down the midway, Melissa and Robert Dempsey showed that the family who spray-paints together stays together.

Their two children, ages 2 and 4, got their heads painted bright blue and metallic magenta, respectively. Dad went for a black helmet look, with a University of Georgia "G" in red on the back of his noggin.

As she was deciding which washable shade she'd go for, Melissa Dempsey said there was no good reason for the hair painting.

"We're just having fun with the kids," she said.

Another popular attraction was the exhibit of "Orphan" vehicles, that is, ones whose manufacturers have gone out of business.

Parked on the grass were dozens of long-gone brand names, like Hudson, Packard, and a recent entry into this category, Oldsmobile.

"This is nice for young people, who may never have even heard the word 'Studebaker' before," said Carolyn Sikes of Duluth, standing beside her 1955 Studebaker Speedster, a sporty model that the now-defunct carmaker introduced as a competitor to cars like the Ford Thunderbird.

Sikes' car has its original colors in a two-tone paint job that the company called lemon-lime. The exterior had more chrome than a boss Harley, and the interior was still-luxurious leather covering everything including the rear deck.

There were only about 2,200 Speedsters made, and perhaps about 300 of them still exist, Sikes said. To keep it in showroom condition takes "time, money and love," she said, adding that it helps to have a husband who can spend hours a day in the garage sprucing up their vintage cars.

At the festival gate, Jeff Parker looked somewhat out of place as he walked through the misty rain wearing a Hawaiian shirt and carrying an inflated plastic palm tree.

His wife, Vanessa, said they were in costume in order to work at a travel agency booth. However, she added in jest, the palm tree would also provide familiar surroundings for Bogie, the little dog they brought with them, when he needed to do his business.