Kansas City had a great summer! The fun of vacations, pool time and being out of school for the summer has ended and Liberty is ready for Fall. Fall in Missouri signals cooler temperatures, sitting by the fire, turning and falling leaves and outdoor fun. A family tradition since, 1934, The Liberty Fall Festival, headed by the Liberty Area Chamber of Commerce, is a family friendly event that marks the fall season for many in Liberty and Kansas City. Supportive local businesses in and around Liberty participate in a variety of ways in the event which is scheduled the 4th week-end of September each year. This year the 40-50,000 expected festival attendees will enjoy an array of activities, food and entertainment over the weekend of September 27-29, 2013.
Festival Opens | Booths Open | Rides Open
The Festival opens on Friday at 11:00AM and so do the 256 vendor booths! Booths, which feature crafts, non-profit organizations, businesses and food are located along Main, Kansas, Franklin and Water Streets. Fun and excitement for kids of all ages (or anyone who is a kid at heart) starts when the Carnival rides open Friday from 3:00-10:00PM. Carnival times for Saturday are 9:00AM-10:30PM and Sunday 12:00-4:00PM. Individual Carnival ride tickets are .75 each or 30 tickets for $20.00. Sunday is wristband day from 12:00-4:00. Purchase a wristband for $20.00 and enjoy unlimited rides all day.
Music for your ears
Do you like to listen to music? Head on over to the James S Rooney Justice Center, located at 11 S. Water Street, to hear classic rock sounds from the band Highway A on Friday Night at 7:00PM. Sets of popular music will be performed by Saucy Jack on Saturday Night. Saturday afternoon from 2:00- 5:30 the stage will be filled with local children singing and dancing. We are expecting to see lots of video cameras that day! Come and support the 4-H volunteers who are organizing a Stick Horse rodeo at the 9 South Leonard side yard at 5:30 on Saturday. Bring your own homemade stick horse or ride one the volunteers will have for you!
Line the Streets for the Festival Parade
The Fall Festival Parade will begin at 11:00AM at Liberty Junior High School (now called Heritage Middle School) located on Kansas Street. The 75-100 parade entries head East on Kansas and turns north onto Leonard and then heads west onto Franklin drive and will end where it began at Heritage Middle School. Come early and bring your lawn chair or find a comfortable spot on the curb and watch as 100 groups, organizations, businesses and schools strut their stuff around Liberty Square. After the parade take your little ones ages 2-6 to test their pedal car racing skills from 1:30-3:30. The races will take place on Leonard and Kansas Streets in front of the Second Baptist Church. Fastest time takes a prize!
Be Prepared!
A new event this year at the Fall Festival is the Liberty Preparedness Fair which will take place Saturday from 10AM-4:00PM in front of Liberty City Hall. Staff members from the local fire department, police department and other service providers, like C.M. Mose & Son, will be there to answer questions about home safety. The Preparedness Area will be a place to discover what you and your family can do to protect yourselves at home, how to prevent the unthinkable from happening and what to do during emergencies such as tornadoes, floods and home fires. The Preparedness Area is a great place to learn and ask questions.
A festival of tastes for your tummy!
Come to the festival hungry! All the food and beverages sold at the festival benefits local non-profit groups. Eat, drink and be merry for you are helping a good cause!
Be a Patriot
The Flag Disposal Ceremony conducted by the American Legion Post 95 promises to be a moving experience to observe. If you have never seen a flag ceremony or the respectful and patriotic ceremony of retiring American Flags, make sure to be at City Hall at dusk on Saturday.
The Liberty Fall Festival is a unique community celebration of the town of Liberty and all those who live and work there. Come and be a part of a tradition. Make it a point to stop by the Preparedness Area and say hello and get valuable information from the men and women who work to serve and protect and do what they can to keep your family safe.