This weekend it’s time for one of our favorite festivals, the
Duluth Fall Festival. The festival will kick off tomorrow morning at 10 AM with a jam-packed parade, including Grand Marshal, Amanda Weir. Amanda was a member of the 2016, 2012, and 2004 United States Swim Teams, winning a Silver medal in 2016 as part of the 400-Meter Freestyle Relay, Bronze medal in 2012, and two Silver medals in 2004. The Honorary Grand Marshal will be Kathryn Parsons Willis. Born in Duluth, Ms. Willis has lived there all her life except for nine years away in school. She worked for sixty two years at Parsons, the family business started by her grandfather in 1876. She has 5 children and now two of them and their spouses, including the festival’s 2016 Chairperson, Kay Montgomery, have taken over her store, Parsons Gifts in Cumming.
The Duluth Fall Festival also provides continuous entertainment during the two days of the Festival at two venues. During the weekend more than 20 acts will perform a variety of music and dance. The Festival Center Stage hosts bands and dance acts, while the Parsons Alley stage hosts smaller bands and acoustic music in an intimate setting. Throughout the Festival, you may run into street performers, such as puppeteers or our Festival scarecrow mascot. A complete schedule for entertainment can be found
here.
The festival is one of the most successful festivals in the southeast, with attendance consistently upwards of 100,000. All proceeds from the festival are used towards improving and beautifying Historic Downtown Duluth. To see some of the projects undertaken by the Duluth Fall Festival, see the
Festival Projects page.
Fontis Water is proud to once again be the water sponsor of this fantastic event!