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Fall Fest to include all-class reunion

Ahhh, September in Cloud County. For many local residents, fall is their favorite time of year. For farmers, fall means one harvest is done - hopefully - and another begins. The nights are getting longer, and though the days may still be hot and bring perilous thunderstorms, the evenings are noticeably cooler and winds carry the scent of tree sap congealing and the chirp of squirrels discussing new hiding spots for their food this winter.

All of that means it's time for Fall Fest in Concordia!
2019 marks the 36th year of an annual, town-wide celebration that attracts visitors from all across the United States. Many of the thousands who flood the town are former Concordia residents who have put down roots elsewhere in the country but still return to their hometown, and often times it's a high school reunion that brings them back.
That's one of the new twists of this year's Fall Fest. Eight high school reunions, going back 61 years, will be held in one location: the Broadway Plaza.
"The idea came from a class reunion last year," said Brandt Hutchinson, the 5th-6th Grade counselor and CHS Career and Community Coordinator. "While giving a tour at the high school, alumni mentioned how difficult it is to organize a reunion. If there was one central organization that everyone could work off of - an all-class reunion network - it might simplify things."
At this year's Fall Fest, the Broadway Plaza will host reunions by the classes of 1958, 1969, 1979, 1984, 1999, 2004, 2009, and 2014. King Midas and the Muflers will perform during the evening festivities.
"We think it's also a great way for alumni who maybe graduated a few years before or a few years after these reunions to come back and see their high school friends," Hutchinson added.
If this year's all-class reunion goes well, it may be something the Broadway Plaza committee will consider making an annual part of every Fall Fest.
The reunions are just one of the more than 30 different events scheduled for Fall Fest 2019. The Medallion Hunt has already begun, and the Cloud County Museum Annex, the National Orphan Train Complex, and the POW Camp Concordia will all be open for tours. The Frank Carlson Library will hold its annual book sale.
The parade begins Saturday at 10 a.m., and the streets and sidewalks around the downtown area are expected to be filled with visitors throughout the day and night. There will be plenty of vendors selling their wares, including the crowd-pleasing barbecue stands with their mouth-watering meats.
Of special note is a concert performance by the Great Society Reunion Singers at the Brown Grand Theatre from 4-5 p.m. The CCCC Men's 2019 Track and Field Championship Team will also be honored with a ring ceremony at the Broadway Plaza at noon.
Events are not limited to the downtown area. There will be a volleyball and corn hole tournament at the Cloud County Fairgrounds beginning at 1 p.m., the Taco Grande Road Rally starting at Taco Grande at 3 p.m., races at the Concordia High Banks beginning at 7 p.m., and Concordia Youth Football at Harold M. Clark Stadium beginning at 6 p.m.
For help organizing future CHS class reunions, please contact Brandt Hutchinson at brandt.hutchinson@usd333.com, or visit the Facebook page 'Concordia, KS Alumni and Friends.' Hutchinson points out that he can help facilitate venue locations, but reunion coordinators must still contact all their classmates for each event.

 

Concordia Blade-Empire

510 Washington St.
Concordia, KS 66901