ELGIN – Carnival games, food, a petting zoo and costume contests will be part of the first Family Fall Fest set for 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 1.
The inaugural event, hosted by the Elgin Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by numerous businesses, will be held at the Elgin baseball field.
“We want to create an old-fashioned fair, something for the families to do and something to come to and have a lot of fun,” chamber President Leslie Durham said.
The fun will involve food and arts and crafts vendors, bounce houses, carnival games, Trail of Fear haunted house, best-dressed pet costume, children and adult costume contests, pie baking, live entertainment, hayrides and face painting.
Chamber officials were looking to establish an event that would spark some joy and fun after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic which caused some businesses to shutter and many residents to stay indoors.
“I think it’s going to be a good thing for the entire community,” Durham said. “We think it’s going to be a fun thing and people are looking for some things to do around town. Plus, we (the chamber) want people to know we’re still here.”
Several years ago, the chamber hosted a summer festival for two years, but Durham and chamber Vice President Kayley Sandy decided to begin a new tradition with the fall festival. Better weather was also a key factor, Durham said.
Temperatures in July have exceeded 100 degrees on multiple days, especially in southwest Oklahoma.
“If you believe in long-term forecasting, I looked it up and it’s supposed to be 85 degrees and partly cloudy,” Durham said.
Sponsors for the event are Connection Church, Hilliary Communications, Arvest Bank, Sonic, Snider Family Exotics, Puppy Love Dog Grooming, My Little Pearl Bowtique, Elgin Rodeo Association, Apache Farmers Co-op of Elgin, Wing-T’s, RV Connections, Lucious Lashes, AgDefense/Time Savers, Cintas, Ruff Draff Productions, Lawton Chrysler Jeep Dodge RAM, Southwest Power Equipment, and Trail of Fear.
For more details, contact Durham at secretary@elginchamber.net or Sandy at (580) 678-7863.