Festival of the Falls to create atmosphere like Oktoberfest

This weekend, the Festival of the Falls offers the community a chance to indulge in the changing autumn leaves and brisk temperatures.

The event, put together by the City of Bloomington’s Parks and Recreation Department, allows families and students from around the area to participate in a range of activities from pumpkin-launching to an under-the-stars showing of the movie “Ghostbusters.”

With the festival in its second year, organizers hope to transform it into a bigger annual occasion.

“It’s morphing into an Oktoberfest kind of event,” said Becky Barrick, community events manager for the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department.

New activities unveiled Saturday will include the opportunity to purchase food and drinks at the beer garden and concessions, sponsored by the Upland Brewing Co., along with seasonal arts and crafts at the Artists’ Alley.

The Trick-or-Treat Trail, where kids follow a path that reveals a story while collecting candy, returns from last year and, as Barrick explained, is one of the highlights of the festival.

“There’s up to 15 different stops, not all fairy-tale characters, but characters that the kids will recognize and that tell a story,” Barrick said.

A Bloomington tradition of its own for more than 30 years, the Festival of Ghost Stories, sponsored by the Bloomington Storytellers Guild and the Monroe County Public Library, will draw its own crowd specifically targeted toward adults and older children.

“There might be people playing to the coldness and darkness of the park,” Bloomington Storytellers Guild coordinator Ginny Richey said. “The stories focus on the possibility of the impossible happening.”

A wide range of stories are set to spook the crowd from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday.

“We tell horror stories, ghost stories, magical enchantment stories. Many are supposed to be scary,” said Mary Frasier, children’s librarian and Bloomington Storyteller Guild member. “There’s even a musical portion that is supposed to provide gross comic relief – it’s a lot of fun.”