TOWNSEND, Mont. — For three days each fall, the population of Townsend can more than quadruple as thousands of people travel to the small community for the annual Fall Fest.
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The Rotary Club of Townsend’s longtime festival is expected to draw between 10,000 and 15,000 people this year — a significant influx for a city of about 2,300 residents.
For the people who organize the event, however, Fall Fest is about more than bringing people to town for a weekend.
It has become a community tradition, an important economic boost for local businesses and a major fundraiser that helps pay for projects and programs throughout Townsend.
“This is the Super Bowl for Townsend, every year,” said Doug Sitton, a Fall Fest emcee and former Rotary president. “I've been doing this 19 years and it never ever gets old.”
Three days of food, music and more
Fall Fest offers free admission and is centered around Heritage Park and South Pine Street.
Visitors can browse more than 120 vendor booths featuring crafts, handmade products and other goods, with vendors traveling from throughout the Northwest. Barbara Mock, a Townsend resident, said she most enjoys the shopping aspect of the festival.
“A lot of people start their Christmas shopping,” Mock said. “They say it's a great place to see unique vendors that they don't see everywhere.”
The festival also features food and drinks, including brats and beer sold by the Rotary Club as a fundraiser, along with live music throughout the weekend. Eleven bands are scheduled to perform this year.
Another major attraction is the car show, which is expected to feature more than 300 cars.
“People, even after they move away, come back for Fall Fest weekend cause it's just so much fun,” Mock said. “It's a great family event.”
A major boost for local businesses
The influx of visitors can have an impact far beyond the festival grounds. Local establishments of all sorts benefit from the additional visitors in town, according to organizers and community members.
“Local bars and restaurants and gas stations, everyone talks about this being their best weekend of the year,” Mock said.
For vendors, the weekend can also be financially significant. Tim Stevenson has been a vendor for over 10 years, selling carved bears and log furniture made with his chainsaw.
“It's a big part of my income,” Stevenson said. “It's great just meeting people and seeing where they're from.”
The vendors also give visitors an opportunity to see and purchase products they might not find at a typical retail store.
Hundreds of volunteers make it happen
The crowds that arrive each fall are the result of months of preparation. More than 100 volunteers work on Fall Fest throughout the year, helping organize the event and prepare the festival grounds.
For Philip Knaub, the Fall Fest operations lead, that work includes some of the less glamorous but essential parts of putting on a large festival.
“I'm coordinating everything from porta-potties to trash disposal to picnic table movement and light set up,” Knaub said.
By the time the festival is underway, Knaub's work stretches across several days.
“I started Wednesday at one, and I'll probably leave this park Monday at noon,” he said. “It's endless; everybody pitches in.”
And the work does not stop when the last visitor leaves. Organizers say they will begin discussing next year's festival within weeks of this year's event.
Knaub said the event has become something the community can rely on regardless of the weather.
“Everybody can count on it every year,” Knaub said. “We've been going long enough that rain, snow, shine, wind — we've had wind — we're gonna be here and offering this event to the community.”
Money raised comes back to Townsend
Although admission to Fall Fest is free, the event generates money through sponsorships, vendors and Rotary fundraising efforts. Rotary reported about $65,000 in net proceeds from last year's festival.
According to Mock, much of that money goes toward projects and programs that benefit Townsend throughout the year.
The festival has helped fund improvements including new tires for a fire engine and sound systems at the rodeo fairgrounds and local school. Rotary also has provided more than $10,000 in scholarships for local high school students.
The Heritage Park pavilion itself, where part of the festival takes place, was also funded through earnings from Fall Fest.
Mock said the financial contributions are one reason the festival has become so important to the community.
“I think people know and understand that we wouldn't have these great things in our community without everyone coming together for events like Fall Fest,” Mock said.
More than a festival
For Knaub, who grew up in Townsend, seeing thousands of people travel to the community is one of the most rewarding parts of the event.
“Having grown up here essentially my whole life, it's just amazing to see that many people coming just to visit Townsend,” he said.
“The community feeling I get such a great joy when you're walking around and you see parents and kids and grandparents and all ages having a good time together,” she said.
That combination of entertainment, economic activity and community investment has helped make Fall Fest an annual tradition in Townsend.
“It's one of the most important,” Knaub said. “I know families plan their family get-togethers around this.”
Fall Fest festivities continue through late Sunday afternoon, Oct. 4. The schedule for the event can be found here.
