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the frankfort station | September 6, 2018 | 3
Fall Fest takes Frankfort to 'paradise'
Rochelle McAuliffe
Freelance Reporter
The Labor Day weekend
may mark the end of summer,
but that doesn’t mean
that there’s not time for one
more party in paradise.
From Sept. 1 to Sept. 3, the
downtown area was transformed
into a tropical destination
for the 50th annual
Frankfort Fall Fest, which
attracts more than 250,000
people to the Southland each
year. To celebrate the event’s
golden anniversary, the “escape”
was aptly named for
the many who donned a lei
and flipflops but also for the
departure from the usual
bustle of town that comes
with a weekend getaway.
Topped with a touch of
tropical weather, the threeday
fest featured more than
300 artisans from across the
nation selling everything
from jewelry, pottery and
fine art to clothing, pet accessories
and craft soap.
While artisans are the big attraction
to the festival, their
unique display of art just
scraped the surface of what
the fest has to offer. Between
the live music, food, carnival
rides and this year’s newest
addition, “The Garden,”
which offered adult beverages
for purchase, there was
something for everyone.
“We’re having a really
great time. We’ve turned
downtown into a little tropical
paradise,” said Bob Peters,
chair of the 2018 Fall
Festival. “It was my vision
for the 50th anniversary to
escape to a little slice of paradise.
We’ve never had that
theme before, and it’s making
for an awesome time. I
even ordered the tropical
weather.”
To plan for a festival of
this caliber, a year-round
effort is required. As soon
as this year’s festival is all
packed up, the planning for
next year’s fest will begin.
“We started planning [this
year’s event] beginning last
September. We don’t miss a
beat. Come Tuesday, we’ll
regroup and ask ourselves
what we did right, what
we did wrong and how can
we improve to make those
changes happen for next
year. It’s a nonstop effort,”
Peters said.
That meticulous planning
is what attracts so many vendors
from across the nation
to the Frankfort Fall Fest,
some traveling thousands of
miles just to participate.
The 11-hour drive from
Stroudsburg, Penn., was a
familiar trip for Ryan Oberdick,
as this was his second
year bringing his handcrafted
“Whisker Biscuits” dog
treats to the Fall Fest. While
Whisker Biscuits travels to
more than 100 festivals and
fairs nationally, the Frankfort
Fall Fest is a favorite for
Oberdick.
“You meet some really
great people here. It’s a wellattended
event, and it's organized
extremely well. You
know everybody from the
top down to the bottom here
really puts a lot of time and
effort into the event,” Oberdick
said.
“Most events like this
are put on by professional
companies. We have over
150 volunteers that dedicate
their time over the weekend,
with many of them returning
year after year,” said Peters.
“We’re truly a Fall fest family,
and that’s something to
be proud of.”
One of those volunteers
was Tom Senffner of Joliet.
For the last 14 years, Senffner
has spent his Labor Day
weekend assisting Frankfort
Boy Scout Troop #270, helping
to shuttle attendees too
and from the festival.
“I guess I like driving
the bus in circles,” Senffner
laughed. “There’s always a
lot of friendly people I get
to talk to. Everyone seems
pretty happy.”
For Katie Newell, a jewelry
maker originally from
Frankfort, the Fall Fest is
her chance to return home
to friends and family while
displaying her passion to her
craft. This was only Newell’s
second year participating
in the event as an artisan,
but the Fall Fest is a longtime
tradition for her.
“I'm so glad I get to come
back and visit to do this
show. It’s so much fun being
out here. love being able to
see everyone that I went to
school with a long time ago,
and show those around me
what I do,” Newell said.
Alex Grimmer (right) an artisan from Los Angeles
specializing in vinyl record art, shows Carli Dunn (middle),
of Orland Park, and Nick Shurba, of Chicago, some of his
work.
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Nora Boetel (middle), 11, competes in a hula-hooping competition Saturday, Sept. 2, at the
Frankfort Fall Festival. Boetel traveled from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to spend the Labor
Day Weekend with family in Frankfort. Photos by Rochelle McAuliffe/22nd Century Media
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