A quarter century of fall in Long Beach

The City of Long Beach’s Fall Festival has been a tradition for over two decades. You know it’s fall when it makes its return.

This past Saturday and Sunday, the event once again turned Kennedy Plaza orange, yellow and brown despite the rainy weather.

It’s essentially the same festival each year, but this year was the 25th anniversary of the Fall Festival.

The highlights, as always, included a pumpkin patch filled with thousands of gourds. A pumpkin bounce house, a carousel, hayrides, fire engine rides and a children’s activity tent with fall-themed crafts will all return as well.

While children enjoyed the games and goodies, their parents were able to enjoy some goodies of their own. Those 21 and older could have visited a food and wine tent and sample offerings from local restaurants. An array of food vendors were also on hand, offering international fare along Park Avenue.

The costume parade, a popular, longstanding tradition, was originally scheduled to begin at noon on Saturday at the Recreation Center. Because of the rain, it was moved to Sunday.

Prizes for the best costumes were awarded on the bandwagon at the plaza at the end of the parade.

Live music and entertainment also brought the noise to the festival. There were seven performances over the course of two days, six focusing on music and one animal show.

“There’s some people that we’ve used in the past that just sort of fit the bill for the Fall Festival,” McNally said. “Kerry Ann Troy really goes through and picks the entertainment for the days.” Troy is the city’s events coordinator.

Nearly 30 vendors, known as the festival’s “vendor village,” offered fresh produce, breads and pies, as well as crafts. The food and wine tent is new, and gave a number of local restaurants the chance to offer samples from their menus.

Each year, the city announces a number of sponsors of the festival. Last year, the Norway-based energy company Equinor was the headline sponsor, the largest of 20 sponsors. The choice proved controversial, given the vocal opposition around the city to Equinor’s proposed Empire Wind offshore wind-turbine project.

At numerous open houses and meetings focusing on the project, city residents voiced their complaints. One, Christina Kramer, who led the first session in Atlantic Beach, echoed the concerns raised by residents of neighboring communities.

“We’ve all purchased property here, raising our children here, because we love this peaceful environment,” Kramer said. “They’re going to be running three high-voltage cables right in front of my home.”

The Long Beach City Council eventually united in opposition to Empire Wind as well, and in July it sent a letter to that effect to Gov. Kathy Hochul. The council wrote that its members were “fully in support of the necessary and urgently needed transition to renewable energy,” and were ready to engage with an “offshore wind developer that proposes a reasonable project.”

Equinor was not a part of this year’s festivities.