CONWAY — The Festival of the Hills is returning to the town’s downtown.
This year the annual fall fair will be held at the ball park behind Town Hall and nearby public buidlings on Sunday, Oct. 2, starting with road races at 10 a.m. and ending with TJ and the Peepers at 4 p.m.
The festival has roots that stretch all the way back to 1915, and officially began in the 1960s. This year it will feature music, book signings, the road races and other family-oriented events.
Traditionally, the festival has been held downtown with the parade marching down Main Street. But for the past two years, while the town ballfield was under reconstruction, it was held at the Conway Grammar School — a location that, according to Amy Dryansky, publicity coordinator for the event, caused some logistical difficulties for parade organizers.
During that time the 10k Covered Bridge Classic Road Race and Kid’s Fun Run 1.2 miler had to be rerouted, and the annual parade had to be suspended.
With the ballfield complete this year and the festival returning to the center, the race routes will also reroute.
The return home also marks the return of the parade, which according to Dryansky will feature “floats, firetrucks, music, and the Conway Ladies Auxiliary Synchronized Skillet Society marchers.”
“As always there will be lots of free activities for the kids,” Dryansky wrote in a statement, “including a hay maze, hill slide, face painting and a book signing by local children’s authors.” Free parking is also in that list.
Musicians slotted so far to play throughout the day include Dan Kennedy, Kalliope Jones with The Nields, Kitchen Pantry, Janet Ryan and Straight Up, and the Sugarloaf String Band. Authors signing books include Jane Yolen, author and editor of more than 280 books, including “How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight!,” Heidi Stemple, David Hyde Costello, John Steven Gurney and Natasha Lowe.
Other activities include “a craft fair, blacksmithing, weaving, food vendors, local products, the famed ‘skillet toss,’ log splitting contest and of course, freshly pressed cider and fried dough with maple cream.”
Registration for the road race and fun run opens at 8 a.m. in front of the Field Memorial Library. Or participants can sign-up online in advance at runreg.com. Both races will start at Conway’s Covered Bridge, and all runners will get a “hand-made medal.”
New this year, the festival will compost as much trash as possible in an effort to make the event “trash-free.”
“Instead of sending compostable food waste, paper products and other biodegradables to the transfer station,” Dryansky wrote, “the Festival committee will send it to a farm to be made into garden compost.”
According to the festival’s website, festivalofthehills.com, the event is all-volunteer, and proceeds go toward a scholarship fund set up for graduation town seniors.
You can reach Andy Castillo
at: acastillo@recorder.com
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On Twitter: @AndyCCastillo