Fall Fest celebrates 10th year in Delhi

The heart of the Delhi Fall Fest has been ‘local’ says retiring committee chair Paul Murray.

“Getting local people out here – a lot of our vendors are local, the parade, the bands, the different styles of music,” Murray said on Saturday afternoon. “It’s truly a community event.”

Murray started the three-day fall festival as a successor to Harvest Fest 10 years ago with a committee of eight and initial budget of $6,000.

“This is our last year for this group, we’re all retiring,” said Murray, who planned to make his retirement announcement Sunday afternoon. “Every one of us is over 70, except for one (who plans to continue with the next Fall Fest committee).

“He (Brandon Marques) is a young buck,” Murray laughed.

The retiring 2023 committee also had eight members, he said, but people have come and gone over the years.

“We do the best we can for the people. Everybody works hard.”

This year’s festival kicked off Friday evening with a professional wrestling show. Saturday’s downtown events included a baby contest, bike dress-up, parade, dunk tank, cornhole, and touch a truck. Entertainment was on stage Saturday and Sunday.

“After a three-year hiatus, it’s back and it’s good to be back,” said Mike Columbus, Norfolk County Ward 3 councilor. “A lot of new people in town are experiencing their first Fall Fest activities and it’s great to see all the service club organizations involved. There’s some new events, like the cornhole. The parade was a quality parade – a lot of work went into some of those floats. And there’s entertainment happening at the stage.”

Haldimand Norfolk MPP Bobbi Ann Brady, who was in the parade Saturday morning, helped celebrate the 10^th Fall Fest volunteering for the Delhi Kin Club’s fundraising dunk tank.

“Whether it’s Harvest Fest, Fall Fest, there’s so many good memories that I have as a Delhi girl,” said Brady. “Keeping these small town festivals and events going is so important to continue to celebrate our local culture and our people. I give a lot of credit to the people here, like the Kin Club, the Fall Fest parade committee, it’s not easy any more to motivate people to get up and do a job. And yet every one of our little communities in Haldimand Norfolk still does it – it’s incredible. I’m busy every single weekend because of the heavy lifting of volunteers and community-minded people… people that have this vision to keep our small town communities alive. I’m very grateful for them.”

Murray said a new committee is expected to carry the Fall Fest into the next year.

“We’re hoping to organize a new group that wants to rekindle and refresh Fall Fest,” said Michelle Noorenberghe, owner of Raise the Bar Fitness, VP of the Delhi BIA, and Delhi Kin Club member.

“Many of us who have lived here for years and who are new here, both want Fall Fest to stick around. Everything works better when everyone works together.”

Meetings will happen over the next couple of months, she said, as the new Fall Fest group determines its goals, values, and what they want to do.