The deck-chairs were out, the picnic hampers overflowing and the red, white and blue sunglasses donned as 160 Co Armagh Orange lodges converged on the village of Newtownhamilton to celebrate the 12th.
The country fair atmosphere was further enhanced by the smell of chips and onion-rings from the numerous fast-food stalls which were doing a lively trade. In fact, the smoke coming from one burger-stall would have done a minor Australian bush-fire proud.
"I always make sure they are well done, no salmonella here," the stall owner declared. "Our burgers are only made from the finest Irish beef." "You mean British," a youth in a red-and-black kilt shouted.
The little faux pas did nothing to spoil the good-humoured atmosphere on a gloriously sunny day although those careless enough to sit down on the muddy ground after days of relentless rain usually realised their mistake within seconds. Combined Orange and security force muscle power was required to free a number of cars which had got stuck in the quagmire.
"I want chocolate and I want it now!" a banner across Foster's sweet-stall boldly stated. Judging by the number of punters it seemed to be a widely held sentiment. "It's the honeycomb boats that are the most popular," one of the women behind the counter explained. "Maybe they give people a holiday feel." On the platform, the mood was less indulgent. The county grand chaplain, the Rev William Bingham, inveighed against the signs of "moral and spiritual decay from top to bottom" pointing out that while the United Kingdom had 30,000 registered clergy there were over 80,000 witches and fortune-tellers. And he had no time for politically correct notions of "interfaith worship". "There is only one faith and only one way to it. Ecumenism only confuses people," he added.
While the rural bonhomie of the occasion seemed a million miles from the violent scenes on Drumcree hill last Sunday, senior Orange officials were at pains to make sense of them. The order's executive officer, Mr George Patton, said in the midst of condemnation the order needed to address fundamental questions.
"We have to look at what prompted normally law-abiding citizens to act in the way that they did. I know of some of those who were caught up in events last Sunday and what happened was totally out of character. We have to consider the frustration, hurt and, indeed, anger that was vented in a way that they accept was wrong, they regret and quite clearly would never have normally been involved in," he insisted.
The county grand master and grand secretary of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, Mr Denis Watson, said he had visited one of the men charged in connection with the disturbances in prison.
"It is now time to show Christ's love and tolerance for those who have expressed regret for their actions rather than snipe at them along with some of the Orange malcontents," he demanded.
As picnic hampers slowly emptied in the afternoon sunshine few in the field seemed too worried that the future could be anything but bright and orange.