PENDLETON — Two local organizations — Pendleton Business Association and Friends of Falls Park — will conduct their twin celebrations next weekend; Pendleton Fall Festival and Pendleton Fall Creek Heritage Fair are scheduled for Friday, Sept. 9, and Saturday Sept. 10.
Other community events — including the ParkFest concert fundraisier for the park, Lucky Duck Race fundraiser for Pendleton Community Public Library, and Spring Valley Quilt Guild show fundraiser for Pendleton Historical Museum — take place before, during and after these two main events, making for an even longer stretch of local celebrations.
Fall Festival
Pendleton Fall Festival is set to run 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, downtown.
The aim will be to showcase downtown Pendleton in a festive atmosphere of vendors selling goods, activities for all ages, as well as a chance to explore local shops, organizer Niki Brown said.
Brown, who in recent years organized many local events while director of Outfitters Inc. — including a block party downtown, a formal gala at a nearby conference center and a Halloween drive-in movie ecent at Pendleton Heights High School — said she has fond memories of the fall celebrations in town, going back to her childhood.
“I love the Fall Festval, which is why we’re doing the theme, ‘Back to our Roots,” Brown said.
She said one of her main goals is to “just really show the festival-goers just what Pendleton is made of. Pendleton is so hospitable.”
She said there will be about 100 vendors, including more than a dozen food vendors. Many local businesses also will be participating.
“We’ll have the kidzone area,” which will include a bounce house, obstacle course, hay maze and corn husk structure, as well as other “home grown” activities.
There will be stops for people to take photos, with scenes painted by Pendleton Artists Society, as well as a professional photographer taking photos in front of a scene provided by Smith Family Farms.
There will be a scarecrow decorating contest for businesses, a scavenger hunt for shoppers through which they will be able to enter drawings for prizes, and storefront decorating.
Town Hall will be a central festival location, Brown said. There will be various activities, including a display of town council members’ baby pictures, where people will be able to guess who’s who in the photos.
The festival cover a larger area this year, Brown said, stretching south on Pendleton Avenue to The Lumberyard building.
State Street will remain open during the festival; Pendleton Avenue will be closed to traffic from State Street north to Water Street and from State Street south to the first alley.
Brown said she’s trying to work in conjunction with the other events going on concurrently, including the Heritage Fair (taking place both days) and farmers market (on Saturday).
“It should be just one fluid event, all day long,” Brown said.
Brown said she plans to have a team of volunteers on the streets during the festival, helping festival-goers out in a variety of ways, from providing directions to helping people carry purchases to their vehicles.
“It’ll be fun. I’m looking forward to it. Seeing new people. Just seeing everybody come and have fun. It’s just so amazing.
“I just wanted to put our best foot forward,” Brown said. “With everything I do, I want to move forward and add new components to it.”
Heritage Fair
A short walk up Pendleton Avenue from the Fall Festival, Friends of Falls Park will play host to its 51st annual arts and crafts event known as the Heritage Fair in Falls Park.
Event hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days.
Organizer Dusten Tryon said there will be more than 100 vendors, including handmade arts and crafts, antiques and food.
Furthermore, “we’ve got double the food vendors this year,” Tryon said, including Kiwanis K Burgers, Tri Kappa chicken noodle dinner (Friday) and Pendleton Lions Club chicken sandwiches and corn on the cob (Saturday).
“We have live music all day Saturday, and we’ll have some live music on Friday as well, but not the entire day,”
Visitor parking will be available east of the event area for a $5 donation.
Live music will be performed at the shelter house near the Community Building on both days.
Friday’s schedule was not final at press time, however one band, Sweet Country and the Dog Biscuits was set to perform midday.
On Saturday, Mountain Laurel bluegrass band will perform at 10 a.m.; Rhythm and Cues Cloggers are set for 12:15 p.m.; Sara and the South Bend Sound will perform at 1 p.m.; and solo acoustic guitar performer Derek Lee Bishop will perform at 4 p.m.
Silver Strummers dulcimer group will perform, demonstrate and provide some instruction on Friday and Saturday.
New this year is the Fall Creek Heritage Fair Court open to students in fourth through 12th grade. Friends states that this “is not a beauty pageant — it is a royal court where winners are chosen because of their love of history and community service.”
Applications deadline was Aug. 31.
Plans are to crown a king, queen, prince and princess will be crowned Saturday morning at the Falls Park gazebo. The royalty will walk around the event afterward.
Other events
• Second ParkFest 2022 — ParkFest is set to return for Thursday, Sept. 8, at Barnhart Field in Falls Park.
This outdoor concert event, featuring Stella Luna and the Satellites is a fundraiser for the park.
“We’re feeling just as optimistic as we were last year,” said Lisa Floyd, one of four co-organziers of the event.
Last year, paid attendance was more than 500, Floyd said.
“Barnhart Field holds thousands of people, so there are no space limitations.”
The event schedule is:
5:30 p.m. — gates open
6 p.m. — Family Fun Zone opens and DJ Jim Noggle
7 p.m. — Stella Luna and the Satellites
Family Fun Zone will offer games and activities for children. There will be face painting, a balloon artist and kite-flying area with kites provided.
There will also be two selfie photo areas, sidewalk chalk drawing contest and more for people of all ages.
Pendleton Heights art students will run the “Chalk the Walk” contest. Organizers are encouraging participants to sign up at parkfest2022.com; people can begin their chalk drawings after 8 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 7.
Yummerful will be selling treats, Twisters will be selling soda drinks.
Tickets cost $15 for 11 and older; no charge for those 10 and younger.
A four-ticket FestPack costs $50.
People are invited to bring their own picnic (BYOP) — food, drink, chairs and blanket. A BYOP contest includes prizes for the best decorated space.
ParkFest 2022 T-shirts will be available for purchase while they last (children’s, $10; adult, $20).
Tickets can be purchased at PARKFEST2022.com. Rain date is Sept. 11.
• Pendleton Indiana Farmer’s Market — the weekly market, also managed by Friends of Falls Park, will operate under extended hours from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. It will be in the same location along Falls Park Drive. Some market vendors will have booths in the Heritage Fair that day instead.
• Art Show (hosted by Amy Turner/State Farm) — Developed through the South Madison Community Foundation, the show will include works by artists up age 21. Works will be on display in the shelter house next to the pond from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10. For details on submitted a piece of art, contact Turner at 765-631-4016.
• Ninth Annual Friends of the Library Lucky Duck Race will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, at the falls in Falls Park.
The Finish Line Party will start at 1:30 p.m. behind the Community Building.
There will be a DJ helping keep people engaged in race activities.
The goal is race 1,000 ducks. To reserve a duck, visit Pendleton Community Public Library or find the duck booth at one of several local community events scheduled for August and September.
Duck entries cost $5. Proceeds will benefit Pendleton Community Public Library.
• Spring Valley Quilt Guild will conduct its 41st annual “Quilts in the Park” Quilt show Sept. 8-11 at Pendleton Historical Museum in Falls Park.
The public will be able to view quilts on display from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday; and from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
There’s a $5 entry charge. All proceeds benefit the museum.
There’s also a raffle for a quilt, with tickets available at the door for $1 (six for $5).
There are 12 categories in the show:
1. Hand Quilted: All techniques except art quilts.
2. Small bed: Pieced, machine quilted (perimeterup less than 325 inches)
3. Large bed: Pieced, machine quilted (perimeter 325 inches or larger)
4. Bed, Applique: Machine quilted all sizes
5. Small wall: All techniques (perimeter less than 150 inches)
6. Large wall: all techniques {perimeter 150 inches or larger}
7. Art Quilts All techniques
8. Miscellaneous quilted items
9. Theme quilts “Nine Patches” any technique, any size and must be recognizable as Nine Patch
10. Quilters First time entry in a quilt show
11. Spring Valley 2021 40th Anniversary BOM (members only)
12. Spring Valley 40th Anniversary Moda Mystery Quilt (members only)
For those interested in entering quilts in the show, quilts must be delivered to the Pendleton Historical Museum between 1 p.m. and 7 p.m Tuesday, Sept. 6.
There is no entry fee and the show is open to anyone.
Quilts must have a sleeve to hang the quilt. Each participant may enter up to two quilts per category and no more than four quilts total. Exception: Spring Valley members may also enter category 11 and 12 for a total of six quilts. Recognition will be given the last day of the show to quilts receiving most Viewers Choice votes.
Quilts may be picked up between 5 and 6 p.m. on Sunday.
For more details, contact Suzie Pierce at 317-750-4001.
