Celebrating fall

By Sean Meyer/London Community News/Twitter: Newswriter22 It may have felt like a middle of summer, but London residents were given the chance to celebrate the autumn season during the second annual Fall Fest. Located in Victoria Park, the Fall Fest runs through Labour Day Monday (Sept. 3) and provides people with a variety of exhibits, bands and vendors while also offering up a number of free activities. Family Shows Canada, which also puts on Ribfest, Foodfest and Kids Expo, created Fall Fest as a way to wrap up the city’s festival season. Chris Jones, entertainment and administration co-ordinator for Family Shows Canada, said Fall Fest is slowly growing and he even estimates the number of participants is ahead of last year’s inaugural event. It was predicted that approximately 50,000 people would visit the festival during its four days. “It’s an ongoing effort to build something new. We wanted to create something like the old fall fair used to be. A lot of people miss that kind of atmosphere,” Jones said. “So that is what we have brought. We’ve doubled the size of our straw maze; we are using inflatable play areas as opposed to mechanicals. We are a head of last year and every year we will keep building on it.” This year the newest addition is even more fun — paddle boats and an inflatable pond. “It is about our customers and our vendors. Even if it was a success, but it wasn’t what our customers or our vendors wanted, we would change it up,” Jones said. “What you are seeing is (Fall Fest) is starting to catch on. Friday was a slow start, but that’s OK, it allowed us to get the bugs out.” Another key to Fall Fest’s growth, Jones said, is the addition of so many free activities, such as pumpkin carving and scarecrow making. “People love the free stuff. If you can’t afford to keep the kids busy in the (ticketed) play area, then we have these things for the kids to do and keep having fun.” Find us on Facebook: London Community News