Fall Festival of Leaves set for Oct. 17-20 in Bainbridge
By Caitlin Forsha
The Highland County Press
The 57th annual Fall Festival of Leaves returns Oct. 17-20 in downtown Bainbridge, with a full slate of entertainment, crafts and contests planned as well as the opportunity to view beautiful fall foliage in “Leaf Country USA.”
The festival kicks off on the evening of Oct. 17 with a ribbon cutting at 7 p.m. at the corner of Main & Maple Streets, followed by a queen’s pageant at 8 p.m. at the Paxton Theatre.
On Oct. 18-20, the Big O Amusements rides and midway, arts and crafts tent and flea market booths will open at 10 a.m. daily. Food vendors will include fried and grilled food, London broil, barbecue, pizza, pork tenderloin, burgers, Mexican, fish, veggies, sausage, bourbon chicken, baked goods, noodles, desserts, lemonade and more.
New this year is “Leaf Lane,” a special, free opportunity for local organizations to raise funds through raffle drawings. Leaf Lane will be located on North Maple Street, near the Main Stage and Festival Office.
The first full day of the festival will be Oct. 18, and entertainment will kick off at 11 a.m. with a performance by Fun Bunch Cloggers, followed by the Paint Valley Marching Band at noon.
On Friday at 12:30 p.m., registration for the karaoke contest will begin, with the contest to follow starting at 1 p.m.
Also at 1 p.m., talented locals will take to the historic Paxton Theatre stage for preliminary competitions in the “Opportunity Knocks” talent show. Contestants will include Jacob Brown, McKenzie Crum & Tori Raines, Cole Barker, McKenna McFadden, Brian Jackson, Mackenzie Mash & John Grabans, Natalii Mather & Rossi Spears, Isaiah & Olivia Spears, Emma Siilcott, Atisa Unique Hayes, Shawn Adkins, Kindal Kellough and Tim Villars.
Several concerts will be held Friday afternoon on the main stage, including Isaac Alley at 3 p.m., Gabe Gilliland at 4 p.m. and Zac McFadden at 5 p.m.
At 6 p.m., Terry Lee and the Million Dollar Band, a 1950s tribute act, will perform, followed by headliners The Vanhoy Brothers, who won the inaugural Opportunity Knocks contest at the festival in 2023.
Saturday, Oct. 19 will include Joy Unspeakable and Dennis Regling (magician/balloon animals) on the midway. The Paint Valley Antique Machinery Club will present the annual Fall Festival of Leaves Tractor Show beginning at 10 a.m. Registration for the Antique Classic Street Rod & Truck Show will start at 9 a.m. Later, a parade of antique and classic cars will be held, beginning at 2:30 p.m.
The 36th annual Prince & Princess Contest will begin Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Methodist Church, located at Maple & 2nd Streets. Also at 10 a.m., Basement Collective will perform on the main stage.
At 1 p.m., Paint Valley Schools will hold an auction on the main stage, while the Opportunity Knocks talent competition will begin their semifinal round at the Paxton Theatre.
A Log Sawing Contest gets underway at 3 p.m. at Maple and Third Streets, while a kiddie tractor pull will be held at Main and Maple Streets at 5 p.m.
Afternoon concerts include performances by New Again at 3 p.m., Bush League at 4 p.m. and Danny Hines at 5 p.m.
“American Idol” finalist Jack Blocker takes the stage at 6 p.m., followed by headliner and Ross County native Mackenzie Mash and the Water Street Band at 8 p.m.
On Sunday, Oct. 20, the Fall Festival 5K run/walk will begin at 8 a.m. (registration starts at 7 a.m.) down Route 50 on the old railroad tracks.
Beginning at 10 a.m., it will be an “Autumn Glory and Gospel Morning” featuring McKenna McFadden, Mackenzie Mash, Forever Faithful and Isaiah Smith.
The Opportunity Knocks finals will take place on the main stage Sunday from 4-6 p.m.
On Sunday afternoon, the visiting queens, Fall Festival of Leaves queen and court, prince and princess and their courts will be introduced at 1:45 p.m., followed by the singing of the national anthem by Mackenzie Mash. The annual Fall Festival of Leaves Parade then begins at 2:30 p.m.
The festival will conclude with a prize drawing at 5:30 p.m.
There are also four self-guided Skyline Drives promoted by the Festival committee to view the beautiful fall leaves. Those include a Pike Lake Loop, Buckskin Hills Loop, Paint Vista Loop and Red Bush Loop. See more at: https://fallfestivalofleaves.com/skyline-drives/.
In addition to the fun at this year’s festival, Bainbridge-area businesses will be open to serve the community and visitors to the area.
For more information — including schedule updates, a map of festival attractions and more — visit https://fallfestivalofleaves.com or follow the committee on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/fallfestivalofleaves.
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