Fall fun was in the air in Mineola this weekend as the village’s second annual Fall Fest drew thousands to Memorial Park.
“It was one of the village’s most successful events,” said Grace Kelly, the owner of LI PopUP, the organization producing the event. “It was really just a full family day of shopping, eating, drinking, listening to music and playing games.”
Unlike last year’s single-day event, this year’s festival was held over both Saturday and Sunday and jam-packed with new events and activities, including a pie-eating contest, wrestling matches, oversized bucket golf, costume contests and Scooby Doo character meet-ups for kids.
“It was so high energy. People loved it,” Kelly said of the new activities. “For wrestling, the ring was mobbed with people. They did such a family-friendly performance. They were super interactive with the kids and really engaged with the crowd as they did their show.”
The wrestling was held by Championship Entertainment Productions and sponsored by local restaurant Lucharito’s.
Both the costume and pie-eating contests had kids, teens and adult divisions. Kelly said the pie-eating contest “packed” the field as spectators lined up to watch the 22 contestants try to eat a blueberry pie the fastest without their hands.
“People were thrilled with it,” Kelly said. “The field looked unbelievable. It was wall-to-wall people watching…Whether you were spectating or getting involved in the competitions, people really enjoyed it.”
Over 75 small businesses selling autumnal goods, foods and brews took over the fields for families to browse and snack as they posed for family photos and played life-sized versions of chess, battleship, Connect Four, cornhole and Jenga.
“The crowd really stayed for the entirety of the event, so the businesses did very, very well,” Kelly said. “Our alcohol vendors sold out on most things, and some even had to go back to their shops to replenish. The food vendors did really, really well as well. They were happy.”
Kelly said the village is “definitely” planning for the festival to return next year.
