Inaugural Hull Park Fall Festival aims to bring community together in Savannah's neighborhoods

It was during a crisp fall night last year, when Atlanta transplants Brad Griffin and Christian Morgan were sitting on their Ardsley Park porch that a special idea took hold.

The pair were reminiscing about all the neighborhood festivals they enjoyed pre-COVID in their former city. They wondered if something similar could take hold in their newfound community too.

As luck would have it, their neighbor across the street was Scott Anderson, President of the Ardsley Park Chatham Crescent Neighborhood Association.

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That's when the group started kicking around the idea of hosting their own neighborhood festival to celebrate the season and connect with fellow Savannahians.

Fast forward a year, and now with the Habersham Village Neighborhood Association and Stroll Ardsley Park on board too, the neighborhood is set to host the Inaugural Hull Park Fall Festival on Saturday. Griffin hopes this first event will inspire other groups across the city to join in the fun and fellowship.

"It would be amazing if all neighborhoods of Savannah held annual festivals like this on separate weekends, so that we can all visit and meet other Savannahians," Griffin shared. "It would give our neighborhoods a chance to showcase what makes them unique."

The Hull Park Fall Festival will feature a range of games, crafts, and vendors for families and visitors of all ages. Arts vendors from the area, as well as nonprofits such as Second Harvest, Ardsley Park Chatham Crescent Garden Club and Coastal Pet Rescue will host booths at the event. There will also be live music from Jacob Sandwich and The Birdwells, along with food trucks, including Chick-fil-A, Savannah Smash, Latin Chicks, and Kona Ice.

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Since the event leads up to the neighborhood's Spooky Haunted House Decoration contest, the festival will feature costume contests and parade for those who arrive in the Halloween spirt.

The Spooky Haunted House Decoration contest will include a QR code displayed at participating houses linking to Skeleton's for St. Jude, a nonprofit that raises funds for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital.

There will also be a kid's zone with fun and games, including Pumpkin decorating and other family-oriented activities.

With a little luck, the groups hope to grow the festival into an annual event and even possibly expand to a larger venue. "Our goal is to continue to grow, hosting the event annually and eventually moving to Daffin Park once we have enough interest," Griffin added.

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From neighborhood organizations, local businesses, and the City of Savannah, the Hull Park Festival is off to a promising start thanks to the hard work of so many who want to see the community they love shine.

"They have all been crucial in the planning and execution of this event. I can't reiterate that enough," Griffin shared. "The stars aligned when they reached out to us as we were beginning to plan."

Griffin says if other neighborhood associations are interested in joining the community effort, the HVNA and APCCNA are ready and willing to discuss how they can work together to make it happen.

It's all thanks to growing sense of community spirit, one that hopes to bring neighbors closer together after a few challenging years apart.

"I fully expect in 2-3 years that this will be a weekend long event with expanded hours, multiple live music acts, several vendors, and nonprofits, even a 5k road race around the neighborhoods' boundaries," Griffin added. "However, with as much interest as we have seen for this year’s event it could come much sooner."

For more information about the Hull Park Fall Festival, visit the event's Facebook page.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah GA events, things to do: Hull Park Fall Festival