Thayer, Mo. – Thayer held its annual Fall Festival on Saturday, October 14, 2023. Despite grey clouds and intermittent mist, the crowds filled the streets, shopping at booths and participating in crazy activities.
Booths
Booths selling and promoting many different items lined the city streets. Jewelry, hot food, raffle tickets, and the famous chicken poop bingo tickets were in booths. They had a children’s train that circled around, along with a bounce house. Several buyers were looking for ideas for Christmas gifts.
Food
Did we say food? Yes! And hot food they had. Hot cocoa, grilled cheese sandwiches, Frito pies could all be found in buyers’ hands. The city aligned tables and chairs down the middle of the street for shoppers to rest and eat before continuing their browsing.
Music
The Jumpin Jacks performed on stage for all to hear.
Games
They hosted small games for young children, like ring toss. All ages could compete in the bean bag toss, the precursor to a cornhole tournament. They had the unique car smash in which one could pay to sledgehammer a car ( not the car of their choice!) A rope climb was a favorite of all ages, though few could reach the top.
Car Show
What is a festival without an antique car show? The vehicles lined up across from the pumpkin carving for all to see.
Although the festival did begin slowly due to dreary weather, the crowds did arrive and fill up all the space. Streets were bumper to bumper with festival-goers from several blocks away. It was a good night for all involved.
