ATHOL – Despite some ominous weather, the “Silver Lake: Our Waters” went on as planned, even if the crowds weren’t what organizers were hoping for.

The event, held on Saturday, came about as the Open Space and Recreation Commission were hoping to generate more interest in and appreciation of one of the natural amenities in the North Quabbin. To that end, the commission spent several months organizing “Silver Lake: Our Waters,” meant to offer a wide array of activities highlighting all that Silver Lake Park in Athol has to provide the community.

However, what started out as a merely overcast morning with pleasant temperatures and a bit of a breeze quickly deteriorated into an afternoon of dark gray skies and steady, heavy downpours.

While the rain didn’t result in a complete wash-out, “Our Waters” was not the celebration of Silver Lake the OSRC had hoped for. Several of the vendors who signed up for the event did indeed show up and remained on scene, as scheduled, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

“I’ll be here until the end of the day. I’m sure some folks will show up, and I doubt it’ll keep raining this heavy all afternoon,” said Julie Blake, who was manning Pops Sweet-Hart ice cream truck. “We told people we’d be here, so here we are. People love their ice cream.”

Crystal Nash of Leominster also set up in the parking lot at Silver Lake Park to offer mocktails to any visitors who either were fine with braving the elements, or who possessed that optimistic streak common in area residents. “If the rain actually stopped,” said Nash, “it wouldn’t be a bad day – just clouds.”

This was the first “Silver Lake: Our Waters” event and despite the rainout, it will not be the last. Plans had called for a wide variety of activities, including pickleball lesson, magnet fishing instruction, early morning bird walks and demonstrations by the Northeast Houndsmen.

“There’s always next year,” said David Small, a member of the OSRC and president of the Athol Bird & Nature Club.

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.