FALL IS IN THE AIR. And in the streets, if Eau Claire Fall Festival has anything to say about it. The annual free-to-attend event will return, bigger and better on Sept. 14.

Though it’s been an unusually humid and rainy summer, I’ve felt a twinge or two of the crisp morning air that can only signal one thing: fall is coming (thank goodness). Another tell-tale sign of the season’s incoming? The Eau Claire Fall Festival.

Presented by Downtown Eau Claire Inc. (DECI), the Fall Festival is returning for its 35th year and biggest event ever on Saturday, Sept. 14, from 10am-4pm. Free to attend, it's slated to host a record number of vendors – about 170 of ’em – with the community event also set to feel bigger, thanks to its expanded layout.

Those who have attended before will recall the festival featuring vendors down Barstow Street, with the area’s streets closed to traffic. That’s changing this year. Organizers Erin Klaus and Matt Pabich – DECI board members and owners of downtown businesses Tangled Up in Hue and Raggedy Man, respectively – explained the move to expand and enhance the community festival. 

The Eau Claire Fall Festival may feel more like visiting the fair or other large community events like Apple Fest or the former Sawdust City Days, as it will now be organized into a variety of sections, or Experience Zones: The Kid Zone; Public Arts; Sports & Recreation; Civic Engagement; and Performing Arts.

"The event runs from Lake Street down to Eau Claire Street – which it has every year, closing off the cross streets that hit Barstow Street as well – but we’ve never fully utilized those streets to their capacity, they were just closed off,” Erin said. “As a way to open up more space on Barstow and give visibility to the storefronts there, we expanded into the side streets and created Experience Zones.”

"We took feedback from last year really intentionally. We want to get better engagement every year and allow the community to really fall in love with downtown Eau Claire if they haven't already." –Erin Klaus, DECI, Tangled Up In Hue

“Vendors will also be more strategically placed in relation to the Zone that makes most sense for them,” Erin continued. “For example, a vendor like the League of Women’s Voters is by the Civic Engagement Zone.”

Erin and Matt acknowledged one turnoff to not just the annual event but downtown E.C. as a whole: parking. Beyond encouraging people to use the parking ramps downtown, there will also be free shuttle rides from Carson Park to Fall Festival via the Chippewa River Trolley Co.

“Matt and I are both entrepreneurs downtown, so we know what it’s like to experience this event as a small business and potentially have it in front of your own door,” Erin said. “We took feedback from last year really intentionally. We want to get better engagement every year and allow the community to really fall in love with downtown Eau Claire if they haven’t already.”

Another major addition to the festival is the Charity Dunk Tank. Held in the Civic Engagement Zone, folks will have the opportunity to dunk four prominent locals: Julia Johnson (Pablo Group Partner and chairperson of the North Barstow BID); Kate Felton (City Council, owner of Eau Claire Outdoors); Dave Solberg (deputy city manager); and Nick White (Prevail Bank, vice chairperson of the DECI board).

Each dunkee is raising money for a charity of their choosing – Feed My People Food Bank, Beaver Creek Reserve, DECI, and the Boys & Girls Club, respectively – with the South Barstow businesses vowing to match whichever dunkee raises the most money up to $500. The cost to shoot your shot is $5 for two balls and $10 for five balls.

This year’s Main Stage, sponsored by Reboot Social, will welcome Woodland Spring, Jim Phillips Project, CollECtive Choir, and Sue Orfield & Friends. A new entertainment stage will also be featured this year – the Performing Arts Stage – featuring the Ukulele Club of Eau Claire, the Ucycle Fashion Show, CVTG performing a scene from The Full Monty, and a family-friendly drag show.

Just off of Main Street, Phoenix Taproom & Kitchen will also be hosting an Oktoberfest event at the same time, and this year’s festival will feature two beer gardens: one at The Informalist, the other at The Firehouse, which will also have its garage doors open and activities going on throughout the afternoon.

The free all-ages event is guaranteed to be bigger than ever before, and with new organizers and restructuring of the festival’s layout, there is more to enjoy, too. 

View the full schedule of entertainment happening at the Eau Claire Fall Festival, which is free to attend on Sept. 14 • Learn more about DECI on its website