Dale Fall Fest Events
From classic traditions to friendly competition, the Dale Fall Fest offers three action-packed days of entertainment for all ages. Whether you are aiming for the grand prize in the legendary Fall Festival Parade, test-driving your skills in the Jr. Firefighters Challenge, vying to become the next Fall Fest Queen, or competing in our annual sporting tournaments, there is a piece of small-town magic waiting for everyone. Explore all of our scheduled events, contests, and activities below to map out your perfect festival weekend!


Dale Fall Fest Queen Pageant
The Dale Fall Festival Scholarship Queen Pageant will be held at the Heritage Hills High School Auditorium on Sunday, September 6, beginning at 5:00 p.m. Doors will open at 4:45p.m. Contestants will compete for the title of “2026 Dale Fall Festival Queen” and a $1,000 scholarship. The contestants are young women 15 to age 20 who are attending, or have attended, Heritage Hills High School, or those that have a Dale address (which includes a portion of Warrick County). Contestants will be judged on the following categories: theme wear, formal wear, pre-pageant personal interview, photogenic qualities, and an on-stage question. Admission at the door is $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for students. Make plans now to see the Dale Fall Festival Queen Pageant.

Dale Fall Fest Parade
The huge Dale Fall Festival Parade will be held on Saturday, Sept. 12, beginning at 2:00 p.m. The theme for the parade is “Stars & Stripes, Small Town Nights“. A soon-to-be-named community member will be the Grand Marshal for the parade. This event always draws a large crowd and is especially appealing to children, who usually end up with mass quantities of candy handed out by parade participants! Awards will be given in various categories such as best float, tractor, firetruck and best golf cart. Cash prizes will also be awarded to the top three entries in the parade as voted on by the judges: $250 for first place, $150 for second place, and $100 for third place overall. Those wishing to enter the parade should visit the Parade entry signup page. Entries should be at the Spencer Industries warehouse, located on Buffaloville Road in the south part of Dale, no later than 12:30 p.m. the day of the parade. For more information about the Dale Fall Fest Parade visit our Facebook page or email Jeff Wagner at jeffywagner89@gmail.com.
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Dale Fall Fest Half Pot Raffle
The Dale Fall Festival will be having a half pot raffle at this year’s 58th annual Dale Fall Festival held at the Dale Town Park, September 10, 11, & 12. Tickets are $5.00 each, 3 for $10.00, 20 for $20 , 50 for $40 and 150 for $100 and may be purchased three ways: at the Raffle stand during the festival, ask a committee member, or stop at the park Thursday evenings 6:30 pm-8:30 pm the weeks leading up to the fest. The drawing will be held Saturday, September 12, at 10:30 p.m.. You need not be present to win, but must be 18 years of age to redeem a prize. Festival Gaming License #014975

Dale Fall Fest Euchre Tourney
Back by popular demand this year at Dale Fall Fest is our Euchre Tourney. It will begin Thursday, Sept. 10, at 7:00 p.m. in the beer garden. It is open to anyone, aged 21 and older. To register and for more information contact Kathy Reinke at 812-686-0909. The Indiana State Law requires everyone to show valid ID to enter the beer garden.

Silly Safaris Live Animal Show
Dale Fall Fest is featuring the Silly Safaris Live Animal Show on Saturday Sept. 12 at 11:30 am. Silly Safaris is the leading provider of LIVE animal conservation education in Indiana, and its mission is to create positive human animal interactions that inspire responsible pet ownership and wild animal conservation. A LIVE Animal show is the perfect blend of fact and fun for all ages! The shows use a variety of reptiles, mammals, birds and bugs for an experience everyone will remember. Their funologists keep the entire audience involved and special guests from the audience join each animal for a game that teaches about the natural world. Teachers and families love Silly Safaris, teens enjoy hip cultural references, and adults try to catch the comedy! It will be located on the large basketball court. Rain location will be in the Dale Community Center Gym.

David Turnham’s Shining Stars Sponsoring Cake Walk
The David Turnham Educational Center will be sponsoring an old fashioned Cake Walk during the children’s games at the Dale Fall Fest Saturday, Sept. 12, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Kids and adults are invited to walk in a circle around numbers painted on the small basketball court’s blacktop to try to win a cake. Each walk costs 25 cents and helps fund special programs at the school.

Great Food at Dale Fall Fest
This year’s Dale Fall Fest will offer a virtual smorgasbord of exciting foods, enough to satisfy everyone’s tastes and appetites. At the top of the list is Fall Fest’s famous grilled pork chop and fried chicken dinners, followed by Gus burgers (hamburgers), grilled chicken breast sandwiches, pronto pups, bratwurst, BBQ sandwiches, smacked BBQ nachos, french fries, walking tacos, baked potatoes, and lemon shake-ups. For those who like sweets we’ll have elephant ears, soft ice cream, milk shakes, pie by the slice, taffy, snow cones, fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, caramel apple slices and more.

Thirsty Thursday
Back by popular demand, The Dale Fall Festival is featuring “Thirsty Thursday” in the beer garden Thursday, Sept. 10 from 6:00 pm until closing. Beer will be $2.50 each. The Indiana State Law requires everyone to show valid ID to enter the beer garden.

Children’s Games & Pet Parade
The Children’s Pet Parade will be held Saturday, Sept. 12, beginning at 9:00 a.m. on the large basketball court in the Dale Town Park. Pets will be judged in the following categories, each winner receiving a trophy: Prettiest; Most Unusual; Best Pet Trick; Best Dressed; and Best of Show. Children’s Games begin at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, directly following the pet parade. There will be a kiddie tractor pull sponsored by the FFA Club of Heritage Hills High School. It will be held on Friday, September 11, at 6:00 p.m. at the Dale Town Park.

Carter Fire District Jr Firefighters Challenge
The Jr Fire Fighter Challenge is based off the Fire Fighter Combat Challenge. It allows kids 4-12 years old the chance to race the clock while performing tasks that fire fighters do, on a smaller scale. They will have to drag a hose and spray water, carry a hose pack around some obstacles and a few other tasks. The event is free, and will be held at 4PM Saturday Sept 6. Registration forms can be picked up at the Lincoln Heritage Public Library, The Dale Town Hall and Freedom Bank in Dale. Forms will also be avaiable at the event and all forms can be turned in prior to the event.

Dale Fall Fest Adult 3-on-3 Basketball Tourney
Dale Fall Fest will again be sponsoring a 3-on 3-basketball tourney for adults, aged 16 or older. Team registration begins at 6:30 p.m. and the tourney will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, September 11 on the large basketball court. Entry fee for the tournament is $40.00 per team and there is a 12-team limit. Prizes will be awarded to the winning team in each division. For sign-up and more information contact Josh Wetzel at (812) 589-1749 or ajwetzel5@gmail.com.

Kiddie Tractor Pull
Another event for children will be a Kiddie Tractor Pull sponsored by the FFA Club of Heritage Hills High School. It will be held on Friday, September 11, at 6 p.m. at the Dale Fall Fest. The Kiddie Tractor Pull will be on Wallace Street next to the car wash.

56th Annual Dale Fall Festival 5K Walk/Run
The Dale Fall Festival will be holding a 5K Walk/Run on the morning of Saturday, September 12. Registration and check-in begins at 6:00 a.m. CST and the Walk/Run begins at 7:00 a.m. CST. Starting line will be at the former EMT building. There will be awards given to the participants with the winning times in each of the different age groups along with overall male and female. Attendance prizes will also be drawn for. Refreshments will be available at the end of the race. Please register by August 21st to guarantee a t-shirt on walk day. Registration cost is $20 until August 21st, or $25 if you register the day of the race. You can sign up online, or forms are available on our Facebook page under “Dale Fall Fest”, and also at Lincoln Heritage Public Library or YMCA in Ferdinand. Mail entry form to Amy Fetter – Dale Fall Fest 5K, PO Box 106, Dale, IN 47523. Make checks payable to Dale Fall Festival. For more information contact Amy Fetter @ 812-630-1239 or at amysfetter@sbcglobal.net.

Old Fashioned Horseshoe Tourney
Dale Fall Fest will once again sponsor an old fashioned horseshoe tourney on Friday, September 11 and Saturday, September 12. It will be held on the northeast corner of the park. Registration will begin at 6:30 p.m. with play beginning at 7:00 p.m. Friday, and registration starting at 4:30 pm with start time of 5:00pm on Saturday. You will need to bring your own partners Friday, and partners will be drawn on Saturday. The entry fee for the tourney is $5.00 per person. For more information contact Dustin Peters at 812-661-8635.

Water-ball Competition
The Dale Fall Fest will be holding a Water-ball Competition Saturday, September 12th. Firefighters will compete against each other by using a water nozzle to push a ball that is suspended on a cable. This is also good practice for firefighters with using the hoses and nozzles while also having some fun. The event will start at 5:30 pm cst. To register please call Josh Knies 812-660-1804. Must be affiliated with a fire department to participate.

Sand Volleyball
The Dale Fall Fest will host a sand volleyball tournament on Saturday September 12th, starting at 10 am central time on the northeast corner of the Dale town park. There is a $60 entry fee, and each team needs to consist of six people. There will be a double elimination. Trophies will be awarded to the top two teams. To register, please contact Case Reinke at caseman619@gmail.com.

Cornhole Tournament
Dale Fall Fest will host a cornhole tournament on Saturday September 12th at 4pm central time on the large basketball court. Signups will begin at 3pm. Entry fee is $15 per person. Partners will be picked by a blind draw format. Prizes will be awarded to the top three teams.
