Thousands of people are expected to converge on Downtown Washington this weekend for the Fall Festival of the Arts and Crafts.
With temperatures in the upper 60s and low 70s forecasted, organizers expect big crowds.
“The weather looks perfect so we hope that holds,” said Aimee Frey with Downtown Washington Inc., event sponsor.
“We invite everyone to come down,” she said. “We will have many one-of-a-kind handcrafted items, great food, live entertainment and Strassenfest.”
About 65 crafters are participating, Frey said, the most ever. Items will include ceramics, pottery, jewelry, clothing, paintings, photography, wood furniture, candles, quilts, baskets, food mixes and even a stuff-your-own bear.
All of the activities will be held on and around the Main and Elm parking lot.
The fall festival hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
To celebrate Washington’s German heritage, Strassenfest will again be part of the activities, featuring German decorations, microbrew beer, German-type food, German entertainment and a strudel bake-off.
The festival was scheduled to open Friday night with a chili cook-off 5 to 8 p.m.
A total of 20 teams were registered to compete for top chili honors Friday night. This year’s theme was the Olympics. Teams were competing for best booth and costume, in addition to top chili honors.
Entertainment
The musical lineup will kick off with Paradise Sound Friday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
On Saturday, Solo Richies will play from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. followed by the St. Louis Express Band from 2 to 5:30 p.m.
Polka Connection will perform Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
For more information, call the Downtown Washington Inc. office, 636-239-1743, or email events@downtownwashmo.org.
