GOWANDA — As we move into September, thing are coming together for this year’s Harvest Heritage Fall Festival.
Event coordinator Bill Peglowski has already been contacted by several people who have indicated plans to make a scarecrow for this year’s Scarecrow Contest. Registration for scarecrow entries will begin on Sept. 9; specifically information about that will appear in next week’s edition of The Gowanda Press.
FallFest weekend in 2017 is centered around Saturday, Sept. 30 and many additional events beyond the scarecrow contest are being planned.
In the morning on that Saturday, a new event, the Gowanda History Hunt, will be held. Very simply, this will be a scavenger hunt to find information about Gowanda’s history that will be displayed in various locations around downtown Gowanda. This is an event that is intended to be an educational one that parents can do with their children while also giving some additional exposure to local merchants. Several store owners have already been contacted regarding this and anyone who does business in downtown Gowanda on Saturday mornings is welcome to display clues. Contact Peglowski for more information.
An event is also being planned at the Hollywood Theater. In what is being called Cemetery Tour Revisited, some historic video pertaining to Gowanda will be shown. At least one of these will be video of a previous cemetery tour from a past Fall Festival. For those who missed the experience the first time, it will be a chance to see what happened without the bus ride and walking across the cemetery. The Gowanda Kiwanis Club will also be hosting a pumpkin painting activity in front of the theater.
Both the Gowanda Free Library itself and the Friends of the Library group are also planning events for FallFest on Saturday. The exact details are still being determined. Additionally, the library will be serving as the starting point for the Gowanda History Hunt.
In addition to the business district FallFest events, additional activities are being planned for Gateway Park. For those not familiar with Gateway Park, it is the former Peter Cooper site on Palmer Street.
The Gowanda Chamber of Commerce is currently working on a plan to bring a band and crafters to the park for FallFest. Watch for details as they become available. Then, at 4 p.m., Mark Benton is organizing a Legends softball game. The game will feature players from the old Gowanda Merchants, State Hospital and Collins Center baseball teams with a reunion picnic for the players after the game. For additional information on the game, contact the game director, Mark Benton at 532-4053 or by e-mail at hidibenton@aol.com.
According to Peglowski, “there are still a couple of events still pending at this point. Talks are still underway with the Gowanda Legion regarding a possible Fall Dance and with St. Joseph’s Church about a possible Farmer’s market event.”
As additional information becomes available related to FallFest 2017, it will be posted in several places including the event website, gowanda-ny.com/social/fallfest/2017, the community events board on West Main Street near the former Community Bank location, and in The Gowanda Press. Anyone interested in adding something to the FallFest schedule or for additional information can contact Peglowski at 532-9178 or by e-mail at fallfest@gowanda-ny.com.
