Residents Pack Newtown Park for Fall Festival

Though the rain occasionally fell, hundreds crowded this past weekend for the city’s annual Fall Family Festival.

Johns Creek Recreation Manager Kirk Franz said this was the festival’s sixth year.

“We have it here to kick off the start of the fall season,” he said.

As part of this year’s festival, the Saturday summer farmers’ market — this year’s last — was moved onto the main soccer field. The Newtown Recreation Youth Athletic Association provided carnival games and volunteers. Local businesses and organizations set up tables and worked as vendors, in order to make the community more aware of them.

New to this year’s festival was the City of Johns Creek tent, set in the middle of the field. Every hour featured events like a pie-eating contest or a magic show.

Despite the occasional rain, Franz said the turnout was great, with the turnout being the same as last year’s.

“The parking lot has been packed, so that tells us attendance has been right on track,” he said.

Director Ben Team brought a carpet python, a spurred tortoise, and a box turtle to show the children for the center’s third year participating in the festival. He said children always love animals and his appearance was very well-received. He estimated there were more people present this year than in previous years.

Adrienne Trammel represented Southard Bakery and Catering in the farmers’ market, selling jellies, jams and preserves, as well as sausage biscuits and produce. Her most popular items included the habanero gold jelly, apple jelly and apple butter, as well as fig preserves.

“We’re doing well today,” she said. “Lots of people.”

She said attendance has been the same as previous Saturdays.

Manning a Bruster’s ice cream booth was Joey Hsu, who arrived at 8:30 a.m. that day and has attended every fall festival since 2006.

“This is a great event,” he said. “We have a lot of family-type stuff. It’s good for the community.”

He said double chocolate chunk ice cream is his most popular flavor, although the children love the cotton candy-flavored ice cream.