CALVARY — The population of the tiny Grady County village of Calvary increased by about 100,000 people Saturday during the 37th annual Calvary Mule Day.

Vehicular and pedestrian traffic jams were commonplace. Vehicles were backed up for miles on all roads leading to Calvary. Pedestrians weaved cautiously in and out of the long lines of vehicles moving at a snail pace.

Parking was available on private property at several locations for $5. In the center of town, the price increased to $8.

Not all of Mule Day was about mules.

An Albany youth, Zion Cowart, 9, chowed down on an Alligator kebab.

“What does it taste like?” the boy was asked. “Alligator,” he responded.

Zion is a fan of all types of food from wild sources, and Saturday was not his first time eating ’gator.

Lewis Spooner, a Brinson resident, rode a creature very unlike a mule. Lewis’ mode of transportation was Bear, a water buffalo.

The huge, muscular animal was the mode of transportation for his master in the Mule Day Parade.

Billy Frank Curry, a Dublin resident, was awaiting his turn to enter the parade. Sitting beside him in the carriage entry was his wife of 50 years, Mattie.

One of the two mules pulling the couple’s entry was spotted, the product of a leopard Appaloosa mare and a black jack donkey.

Mr. Curry said he likes mules, because they are more loving than horses. He has both — three mules and several horses.

Grady County Sheriff Harry Young has no doubts about this year’s Mule Day being the biggest ever. “There’s no comparison,” he said.

At 5 p.m. Saturday, people continued to arrive at the event.

Young said that in addition to Saturday’s perfect weather, the economy probably has a lot to do with the bigger crowd this year.

People can attend Mule Day for free and don’t have to spend a lot of money, if any, to have fun, the sheriff explained.

A mule-driven wagon train that departs Tifton each year for Mule Day had about 500 wagons this year, a number Young said was a couple of hundred more than in years past.

Law enforcement officers from surrounding communities and Georgia State Patrol assisted in traffic and crowd control. Young said the event would not have gone as smoothly without the officers’ help.

By late afternoon Saturday, two arrests had been made at the event.

Young said two women got into a fight just as the 11 a.m. parade got under way. They were arrested.

“They missed the parade,” Young added.