Fair Grove’s Pride and Joy

The last full weekend of September has come and gone and that means one other thing has come and gone along with it; the annual Fair Grove Fall Festival.

The festival started off hot with the parade that happens at 10am on the Saturday of the festival. After the parade ended, people start to explore what’s new this year compared to the previous year, or the people of the festival go straight to the turkey legs and enjoy their meaty treat. Some other fan favorites of the festival include the snow cones, the old style Root Beer, and the second to none curly fries. After everyone has filled up, they begin to look around at all the tents and vendors that lie within the festival.

“The fall festival does much to help unify Fair Grove.  It brings together almost every organization, church, and family for a three-day celebration of our history and heritage,” states Fair Grove Mayor Tim Smith. Not only does the Fall Festival help bring the community together for three days, it also helps bring in funds for the town. “The economic impact is harder to quantify, but we can estimate it in the millions, if not tens of millions, of dollars over the last 20 years.”

This year’s festival marked the 40th annual Fall Festival. The first Fall Festival took place in the year of 1978, in which fewer than 1,000 people attended.  There were as many people who worked the event in 2017 as there were in total attendance according to Mayor Tim Smith. The festival is a homemade craft show only. The festival does not allow retail, flea market, or commercial items to be sold. This helps the festival keep its identity and to show people the heritage of the community.

Tim Smith states, “We’re incredibly excited to be able to create a showcase for our visitors who want to be able to enjoy a beautiful weekend in a beautiful place.  It really is the best weekend of the year to be a Fair Grove kid.”