Some traditions are simply not to be broken.

That was the sentiment of Todd Tolbert, owner of Beechnut Family Campground, and that is why on Saturday, the start of the Memorial Day weekend, the pool at Beechnut was open and filled with hundreds of people.

While many area pools opted to wait until later to open, the early start of the traditional summer season — Memorial day can never be early than May 25 and is generally closer to the May 31 — didn’t damper activity at Beechnut.

“The water’s still a little cool, but we’ve had a good turnout,” Tolbert said. “Memorial Day’s the traditional time to open the pool, so we opened.”

He said the crowd, which numbered in the hundreds, was a mix of people staying at the campground and local residents who were visiting the pool for the day.

One twist in this year’s grand opening was that Tolbert gave away free tickets to many of the children and teens in schools near the campground, and asked those attending with a free ticket do just one thing — bring a canned food item. The food will go to Yokefellow Ministry.

“We had a pretty good response on the canned food,” he said. “We didn’t get a truckload, exactly, but we got a lot. We only asked each one to bring a single can of food. Anything will help.”

While the free tickets were meant to help a local food bank, the weekend’s activities were focused on one thing, fun, and included organized games and activities led by Chad McNeese, youth director at New Grove Baptist Church, where Tolbert attends. McNeese, his wife, Amy, and several members of the church’s youth group were on hand to offer some organized activity time.

Among the pool games played were the old standards of who could make the largest splash while jumping into the pool, the smallest splash, and who could travel the farthest through the air after swing from a rope over the pool. On the pool deck were games, too, including a giant jigsaw puzzle.

Chad McNeese explained they had taken down a billboard sign, cut it into pieces, and then let those at the pool see if they could reassemble it. One group managed the trick in just 38 minutes, Amy McNeese said.

Another new feature added to the traditional pool opening was a band concert slated for Saturday night, in the field next to the pool.

The local band Ol’ Skool provided entertainment for those who weren’t necessarily interested in taking to the water, and to those who had decided after a day of swimming an evening concert would be just the thing.

Tolbert said he decided to add the concert after a conversation with his brother-in-law, Brian Stone, a member of the band.

“We just started talking,” Tolbert said. “We wanted to have them here for a concert, and after we talked we thought Memorial Day would be the time to do it.”

The pool is open today from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., it regular Monday through Saturday hours. On Sunday, it typically is open from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m.