SIDNEY — Downtown business and organizations have banded together to transform downtown Sidney for the first annual Boos & Brews Fall Festival this weekend.
“The Boos & Brews Fall Festival brings a sense of community and tradition to the residents of Sidney and Shelby County and offers families a great way to get out and mingle with friends and other community members all while enjoying fall themed activities,” Sidney Alive Administrative Assistant Kristen Arnett said. “With the event being in conjunction with the last day of The Great Sidney Farmer’s Market, it’s also a great segway into the fall and holiday shopping season.”
The festival will kick off at 8 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 9, with the Great Sidney Farmer’s Market taking up courtsquare around the courthouse. There will also be sidewalk sales starting Friday, Oct. 8, and running during the festival and includes Moonflower Effect, Hammer & Stain, Vintage Kitschy, Wiford Jewelers and Magnum Music.
According to Arnett, the downtown trick or treat event was expanded to include the growing number of businesses that have popped up around downtown Sidney.
“With the growing number of restaurants and bars in the downtown, we wanted a way to promote them as well, so having a kids and family event happen in the first part of the day with the traditional kids activities combined with the Boos & Brews Fall Festival Bar crawl, along with the utilization of the DORA happening in the evening seemed like a great way to do just that and for people of every age to enjoy the downtown,” Arnett said.
Starting at 9 a.m., families can enjoy a variety of activities from booths set up by SCARF, Sidney Dance Company, Connection Point Church, Ashley Himes State Farm, Lehman Catholic High School Junior Class, All Soles Dance Studio, Sidney Police Department, Andrew Shaffer State Farm, New Choices Inc., Temperance Lodge NO. 73 F&AM, and The Salvation Army. There will also be a Halloweenville Window Scavenger Hunt with businesses such as Ron & Nita’s, Amos Memorial Public Library, Vin & Joy, Moonflower Effect, The Historic Sidney Theatre, Eilerman Insurance, HER Realtors, The Shelby County Historical Society and The Ivy Garland participating. Hunt sheets will be available at the info booth.
Costume contest registration will open at 10 a.m. on the north side of the square and the costume contest will be held at 11 a.m. Age groups in the contest will be split up into 0 to 3 years, 4 to 5 years, 6 to 7 years, 8 to 12 years, and pets.
Downtown Trick-or-Treat will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Trick-or-Treaters can collect candy from Magnum Music, City Carry Out, HER Realtors, The Alcove, Ron & Nita’s, Moonflower Effect, The Shelby County Historical Society, Wiford’s Jewelers, Vintage Kitschy, KB’s Taphouse, Hammer & Stain and Sellen Photography.
Additionally, direct sales vendors from Scentsy, Color Street, Norwex, Tastefully Simple, Pink Zebra and Embrace & Bloom will be in attendance, as well as Kona Ice.
“While we still keep the health and safety of our community members in mind, it’s wonderful to be able to hold activities downtown again this year. We love seeing the downtown filled with people and appreciate everyone who comes out and enjoys the events,” Arnett said.
Arnett added that Sidney Alive is grateful for the community support and support from donors and sponsors, including the City of Sidney and Emerson Climate technologies.
All remaining Sidney Alive events for the year can be found on the Sidney Alive Facebook page or at sidneyalive.org.
