(Editor’s Note: Since its inception, Duluth’s Fall Festival has been a major project of Kathryn Willis, one of its founders. Here she remembers key events in its 34 year history. –eeb)
By Kathryn Willis | The year 2016 marks the 34th anniversary of the Duluth Fall Festival. It’s coming September 24-25 this year.
Let’s look back over those years. The first festival was in October of 1983, in the rain, and it produced only $300 in proceeds. However, despite this inauspicious beginning, the decision was made to make it an annual event, and have all future proceeds go to improving Downtown Duluth.
Willis
Almost every year something distinctive and monumental has been added to the Festival. In 1984 the first newspaper tabloid came out. In 1985 the first Festival t-shirts were provided by Tom Martin of Citizens Bank of Gwinnett. In 1988 the Silent Auction was added, with the much needed Clean-up Committee not coming until 1990.
Until 1993 there was a traditional street dance. Now we have great, free Saturday night concerts on the Town Green. In 1996 Taylor Park was purchased by the Festival and given to the city. 1997 was a banner year as the Festival expanded to two days, and the Sponsor Committee was added. In 2000 a website was launched, www.duluthfallfestival.org. The Town Green and the Festival Center were introduced at the 2001 festival, and this was our proudest moment. The Festival plus the city working together had changed Downtown Duluth forever.
Since then, the Festival has paid for a landscaped brick courtyard, an entrance into Taylor Park that includes a permanent sponsor board, and the Eastern Continental Divide Monument. It has also made improvements to the Festival Center, and has given $100,000 to the Red Clay Music Foundry, and much more. The current project, along with the city, is Parsons Alley, our new beautiful plaza area outside Dreamland BBQ. This will serve as the entrance to that entire block of new restaurants. In all, since it started, the Festival has contributed over $2.5 million to Downtown Duluth, And surely we can’t forget the many thousands of man hours!
In 2016, our committees have grown from the original four (Parade, Arts and Crafts, Food, and Entertainment) to over 50 committees. The volunteers went from a handful to almost 400!
Our only limit is space since the number of Arts and Crafts and Food Booths cannot grow much more. They now number about 375. Our Duluth Fall Festival has consistently been chosen “Best Festival in Gwinnett” and the area, since last year it was named by the Southeast Festival Association as best in the whole Southeast.
However, all of this is only the beginning of what Duluth Fall Festival has meant to Duluth. It is made up of a group of people whose common bond is love of Duluth. They all agree that the money made, the areas that have been beautified, and even Taylor Park and the Duluth Festival Center themselves are just the beginning of the difference the Festival has made to Duluth. It has given new people and natives a chance to get to know each other, to work together toward the same goal, thus becoming close friends.
In the process, they all grow to love Duluth even more, and regardless of where they were born, to look on Duluth, Georgia as their home!
- More: Duluth Fall Festival
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