First FallFest Flourishes

It all started with some pumpkin seeds.

“I found pumpkin seeds in Cheyenne. I grew pumpkins thinking they weren’t going to make it, I grew them in tiny medicine cups and they took off,” said Sophia Borg. “So, I had this big plan that we (StrongTower Designs and Palomino Hat Bar) were going to have a pumpkin patch. That grew from the pumpkin patch into the festival.”

The festival is the inaugural Saratoga Fall Festival—or Saratoga FallFest—which was held on October 21 on east Spring Street and was organized by Borg, friend Shannon Peth and other community members and organizations. One couldn’t have asked for a better day as the autumn sun shined bright, the temperature was just right and the wind had even taken a break.

The best part was there seemed to be something for everyone. On the lot across from the municipal parking lot, trees provided shade for a pumpkin patch, hot chocolate bar and food vendors. In the municipal parking lot, meanwhile, musicians played as attendees visited with crafters, got their face painted or took part in a pumpkin painting contest. Then, in the blocked-off street, people played various carnival games or took part in the cornhole competition.

Borg estimated somewhere between 150 and 250 people attended the event.

“Not just the community that showed up to support it, but people who saw it driving by and stopped,” said Borg. “There were some people from out of town that just stopped in.”

According to Borg, one of the most popular parts of the FallFest was the pumpkin painting contest, which was hosted by the Platte Valley Arts Council. A variety of miniature pumpkins, provided by Valley Foods, were painted by age groups ranging from five and under up to adults.

“The pumpkins were amazing,” said Borg.

Their popularity was unexpected by both Borg and the arts council.

“The Platte Valley Arts Council, I kind of threw them to the wolves. We didn’t think all these children were going to show up let alone enter the competition,” said Borg. “They stayed for an extra hour after the event just to sort through the pumpkins.”

Other community organizations which took part in the event included Valley Village Child Care and the Saratoga Recreation Department. Both shared a space at the festival with Valley Village Child Care doing face painting for both children and adults while the Saratoga Recreation Department had a fall-themed photo booth.

“I wanted it so it wasn’t one organization,” said Borg. “I wanted everybody in the community to have a tie to it so everybody takes pride in the festival.”

According to Borg, she believed that inviting the Platte Valley Arts Council, the Saratoga Recreation Department and Valley Village Child Care along with local businesses such as Red Sage Spa and Hatch Tack LLC. was a way to help get them even more out into the public. By giving them a space at the festival, it helped educate the public on what their organizations or businesses did for the community.

That feeling extended beyond the community organizations and to the local crafters and vendors as well.

“Selling your goods that you take pride in, especially jams, they take a lot of time and they take a lot of effort,” said Borg. “It’s a way for everybody to get their stuff out and be a part of the community.”

According to Borg, both vendors and food trucks did well at the event. With two food trucks—Eat All Day and Hangry Services—it seemed people found it easy to support both businesses.

“I was impressed not only by how many people attended but how many people partook in the vendors,” said Borg. “What I noticed about the food trucks, people would get drinks from one and then food from the other. It was neat to just watch people as they supported both.”

Then there were the musicians. Local favorites Catie Hefner and Jason Swedlund were joined by Brian Rhea, a songwriter from Nashville. Rhea also played at the Lazy River Cantina that night.

One question people may have about the event—and was asked of Borg during the event—was what the money was going towards. According to Borg, a portion of the funds raised will go to paying the musicians who played and to the purchase of the pumpkins and other materials. Ideally, Borg wants the FallFest to grow like the pumpkin seeds which germinated the idea in the first place. There doesn’t seem to be any idea too big, either.

“We’re going to put it into a non-profit account as a community event. It will go towards making the festival next year bigger and better. What we’d really like to do is get more musicians in, get more games in,” said Borg. “I would like to have a corn maze, but I really don’t know how your going to get a corn maze in the middle of downtown but I will figure it out.”