For two days this weekend, Barrington was alive with bright sun sparkling off the water, leaves glistening in fall hues, and soccer balls, soccer balls, soccer balls.

For the first time in memory, the Barrington Invitational Tournament enjoyed perfect fall weather, and the tournament and Barrington itself, shined.

It was a wonderful weekend, and we congratulate all those responsible for making it happen.

The tournament is a massive undertaking. More than 100 teams, with more than 1,000 players, plus their parents, siblings, families and coaches, stream into town for two days of soccer, sunrise to sunset. They come from everywhere in Rhode Island, New England, Connecticut, New York, even New Jersey.

Nearly every available field in Barrington is put to use, and that’s still not enough. At St. Andrew’s School, in the high school baseball outfield, behind the high school tennis courts, at Haines Park, everywhere they can find space, the volunteers organize and (with help from the Barrington Department of Public Works) line even more fields, so many that it seems players are running around and kicking soccer balls in a 360-degree kaleidoscope of motion.

Most remarkably, it all runs smoothly. Even late in the day, the games were starting and ending on time. Teams knew where to be and when. Concession stands were selling hot chocolate and hot dogs. Even parking was hardly a problem. Roads were passable, and visitors could park and walk with ease to their fields.

In town, the coffee shops and lunch places were hopping, as first-time visitors explored Barrington’s local business district.

The Barrington Youth Soccer Association should be proud of an enormous accomplishment. Led by a core group of people, with a small army of one-weekend volunteers, they orchestrated an event on a massive scale, and they made it look easy.

We know it was not, and we appreciate the effort. For one weekend, with Mother Nature finally cooperating, they showed Barrington in its best possible light. It was a great weekend for soccer, and a great weekend for Barrington.