The 73rd Annual New Palestine Fall Festival runs Thursday through Saturday and includes a parade through town at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 10.
NEW PALESTINE — The turning of the seasons is being welcomed by the county with the start of local fall festivals. One of the first on tap is the 73rd Annual New Palestine Fall Festival. The three-day event kicks off tonight at the New Palestine Lions Club, 5242 W. U.S. 52.
The festival runs from Thursday, Sept. 8, through Saturday night, Sept. 10, and offers a little bit of something for everyone, young and old alike.
Event organizers say they’ll have food and vendor booths, games for everyone, a kids’ area, a beer garden as well as wine and cocktails, plus music and entertainment along with many other fun events happening each day.
The wildly popular Purse Bingo gets things started tonight.
“We’re sold out and have over 325 women interested in that,” Lions Club event organizer Mark Kennedy said. “It’s our biggest money maker.”
Purse Bingo is an event where participants have a chance to win top-of-the-line purses by playing bingo. Cash Bingo will take place Friday night along with a trivia contest. Hours of operations are 6-9 p.m. tonight and then 5-9 p.m. Friday while the festival will be open from noon to 9 p.m. Saturday.
Thanks to the community support, Lions Club officials have been able to give back to the community in many ways through such things as their discounted rentals to qualified non-profits and also giving scholarships to New Palestine High School students.
“We’ve finally turned the corner where the money we raise at the festival can start to go back to the community instead of paying for renovations we’ve made at the facility,” Kennedy said.
Officials with the Lions Club noted they are also the home of Boy Scout Troop 244, American Legion Post 182 and Broken Arrow Outreach, which all benefit from the funds raised at the Fall Festival.
They’re also letting students from the NPHS choir host their kids zone area, meaning they get to keep all the profits for the school’s choir.
Officials with the Lions Club say while they host many events throughout the year, their biggest and probably the funnest even is the three-day fall festival. It includes the New Palestine High School All School Class Reunion which is always held on the last night of the festival, Saturday, Sept. 10 starting at 5 p.m. The gathering gives all NPHS graduates a chance to get together and talk about the good ol’ days, while enjoying good music and adults beverages.
One of the other fun attractions surrounding the festival every year happens Saturday morning, an hour before the festival opens at 11 a.m. That’s when many people show up for the parade through town. There is no real theme associated with the parade, and no application is needed. The parade is designed for folks to show up with their own truck, tractor bike or even people can participate in the event which is always supported well with friends and neighbors lining the streets through town.
Those participating are asked to be at New Palestine Elementary School, located at Gem Road, around 9 a.m. That’s when officials plan to get those taking part in the parade lined up. When the parade wraps, normally around noon, the festival opens then and remains open all day and night until the NPHS reunion shuts things down later Saturday night.
