Celebrating 200 Years of Fall: Fall Foliage Festival returns to downtown Martinsville

Lance Gideon, The Reporter Times
·4 min read
The Wizard of Oz characters — better known as employees of Home Bank — smile and wave to the crowd during the 2018 Fall Foliage Festival Parade.
The Wizard of Oz characters — better known as employees of Home Bank — smile and wave to the crowd during the 2018 Fall Foliage Festival Parade.

Temperatures are beginning to cool and nights are getting longer.

In Martinsville, this means the Fall Foliage Festival is gearing up for its annual return to the city.

The 2022 Fall Foliage Festival will largely be a return to normal for the event as the carnival is set to return to the Morgan County Courthouse square in downtown Martinsville.

The festival was canceled altogether in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and most FFF events were conducted at the Morgan County Fairgrounds in 2021 due to construction on the I-69 Finish Line project sending cars through Martinsville as a 5-mile stretch of the highway was completely closed to traffic.

The theme of this year's Fall Foliage Festival is "Celebrating 200 Years of Fall" in commemoration of both Morgan County and Martinsville's bicentennial.

The festival officially kicks off Thursday, Oct. 6 and runs through Sunday, Oct. 9.

However, a few events occur before the festival — including Farmers Day from 4 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Morgan County Fairgrounds, 1749 Hospital Dr., Martinsville.

Free Stage entertainment this year includes Family DJ Jason Osborn from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Tom Henson and the Main Street Band from 7 to 10 p.m. Friday and Blue Eyes and Grey Skies from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday.

Fall Foliage Festival 2022 schedule

Thursday, Oct. 6

  • 5 to 9 p.m.: Vendors open

  • 5 p.m.: Family Bargain Night (rides are one ticket per rider)

  • 5:30 to 6 p.m.: Big Mac Eating Contest

  • 6 to 7 p.m.: Studio J2 Dancers

  • 6 to 8 p.m.: Customer Appreciation Night

  • 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.: Art Show Display at Art Sanctuary, 190 N. Sycamore St., Martinsville

Friday, Oct. 7

  • Noon to 9 p.m.: Art Show Display

  • 5 p.m.: Vendors and carnival open

  • 5:45 to 6:45 p.m.: Partay Cloggers

  • 6:55 p.m.: Taps on the Square

Saturday, Oct. 8

  • 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Car Show at John R. Wooden Middle School, 109 E. Garfield St., Martinsville

  • 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Kids Events at the courthouse square

  • 1 p.m.: Carnival opens

  • 2 to 3 p.m.: Rhythm Chasers Cloggers

  • 3 to 4 p.m.: Martinsville Academy Gymnastics

  • 4 to 5 p.m.: K9 Demonstrations with Deputy Sichting

  • 5 to 6 p.m.: Gentry Martial Arts

  • 6 to 7 p.m.: Elite Dance and Acrobatics

Sunday, Oct. 9

  • 8 a.m.: 5K race registration begins

  • 9 a.m.: Open Air Church Service at the Free Stage and 5K race begins at Bell Intermediate Academy, 1459 E. Columbus St., Martinsville

  • Noon to 5 p.m.: Carnival

  • 1 p.m.: Fall Foliage Festival Parade steps off

Fall Foliage Festival Parade

Each year, the Fall Foliage Festival Board selects two community members to serve as Grand Marshall and Parade Marshall for the event's parade.

Indiana Spirit of '45 founder Bruce McKee has been selected as this year's Fall Foliage Festival Parade Grand Marshall while Volitta Fritsche has been picked as the parade marshall.

McKee, and other Spirit of '45 members, performs Taps and other patriotic tunes at events throughout Morgan County.

The Spirit of '45 is most known for playing Taps around 7 p.m. every Friday in downtown Martinsville.

Fritsche is a volunteer for many community events and can often be seen assisting at the Morgan County Parks — including leading the recent Old Town Waverly Park Festival.

"These two amazing Morgan County community members do selfless, compassionate and honest work with their respective organizations," the FFF board said in a recent Facebook post. "The FFF board could not be more thrilled to have you both highlighted and honored in the 63rd annual Fall Foliage Festival."

Fall Foliage Festival Parade Route

This year's parade will start at Bell Intermediate Academy and head west on Columbus Street, then turn right onto 2nd Street, then left onto Washington Street.

It will then follow Washington Street to the downtown area where it will turn left onto Jefferson Street, then left on Columbus Street, turn right onto Home Avenue and then left onto Gray Street into Martinsville High School.

Contact Reporter-Times, Times-Mail and Spencer Evening World editor Lance Gideon at lgideon@reporter-times.com or 765-342-1543. Follow him on Twitter: @LanceOGideon.

This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Fall Foliage Festival in Martinsville 2022: Schedule, parade route