The Wanatah Scarecrow Festival kicks off fall with three days of fun for the whole family

As the weather finally starts to cool down and the leaves begin to change colors, there’s no better way to spend a weekend than at a fall festival. From September 25 to 27, the annual Wanatah Scarecrow Festival brought the community together for three days filled with festive activities.

Celebrating their 32nd year, the Wanatah Scarecrow Festival has been a cherished tradition since 1994. The festival has a passionate team that works behind the scenes every year, and is fully volunteer run, with the help of sponsors. The festival continues to promote local businesses and organizations. Their mission is to create a safe, family-friendly event that supports local businesses, artists, and volunteers, and celebrates community pride.

“This community has been doing this festival for 32 years, and in a small town like this, history and tradition is very important. So to continue this fest, it’s very important to the town. It’s very important to these vendors, and some of these vendors have been coming here for 32 years, and they enjoy it,” said Levi Oman, a committee member for the Scarecrow Festival.

The weekend included handmade scarecrow displays, food vendors, live music, games, contests, and more. Kicking off on Friday with a pork chop dinner and live music in the evening, attendees were able to begin their weekend with a night of fun. The harvest contest was also on Friday, and attendees could submit their harvest into different categories such as tallest sunflower, heaviest pumpkin, largest watermelon, and more. Winners were announced at the end of the night.

On Saturday, the day started off with a 5K run-walk and kids fun-run, followed by a parade at 11 a.m. The parade filled the streets with floats from local businesses, school groups, and more. Trophies were also presented to the best, most creative participants in the parade. Other fun activities included a hot wheel race, bingo, and a cutest baby contest, with live music from Dr. Rob and the Revivers, a 10-piece band playing classic rock, funk, and more.

“Every year I look forward to bringing my kids and my family here. It’s just fun to get the kids out, see what they like and get some stuff for them. The food’s always a plus. The kettle corn and the cotton candy are all of our personal favorites,”  said Caleb Howard, an attendee of the event.

The weekend concluded on Sunday, with an early morning pancake breakfast at Sacred Heart Catholic Church and a church service at 10 a.m. Other activities this day included a wildlife show for kids to interact with animals, a car show at Lions Park with concessions, a raffle drawing and more.

Whether you wanted to relax, listen to music, eat good food, or bring the whole family for a day filled with activities and contests, there was something for every age at the festival. Every attendee could feel the community love and magic in the air this weekend.

“I hope that the community sees that no matter what the weather is, no matter what’s going on in the economy or the country, we are here to bring together this small community to hang out and show what Wanatah is all about. We allow local vendors as well as vendors from other areas in Indiana to come and sell their goods, and it’s just a means of being together in the community, you know, to bring camaraderie around for everyone,” said Oman.

“Going forward, I would like for some more of the community to open up some of their land, so we could expand some more tents, and get some more vendors in. We have vendors on a waiting list that have been here for a couple of years. They’re looking for spots, so we would love to see more room to get all of our vendors in to meet all their needs and to get more people involved from the community on the committee,” said Oman.

To learn more about Visit Michigan City LaPorte and stay updated with future events, visit michigancitylaporte.com. For more information on next year’s Scarecrow Festival and learn how to get involved, visit scarecrowfest.org.