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.

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“. Abe Lincoln American Legion Post 444 will serve as 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 1:00 PM 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.

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

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. Indiana State Law requires everyone to show valid ID to enter the beer garden.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

As part of the 58th Annual Dale Fall Festival, any married couple can sign up to test how well they know their spouse in The Not-So-Newlywed Game, a family-friendly spin on the classic TV show taking place on Saturday, September 12, 2026, at 5:00 PM CDT on the Beer Garden Stage. Couples will answer hilarious questions for a chance to win prizes, secure bragging rights, and entertain the crowd.

Registration is now closed.

Get ready for the Dale Fall Fest Pronto Pup Wiener Dog Derby on Saturday, September 12, at 4:00 PM at the Dale Park Large Basketball Court! Hosted by Spencer County It Takes a Village, this free-entry event invites wiener dogs of all shapes and sizes to put their little legs to the test. There is no pre-registration needed—simply sign up on the day of the event starting 30 minutes before race time. While entry is free, donations to support Spencer County It Takes a Village are greatly appreciated.

Speed isn’t the only way to take home a trophy! In addition to crowning the race champion as “The Pronto Pup,” awards will also be handed out for Longest Dog, Biggest Dog, and Smallest Dog. Whether your pup is built for speed, extra long, built like a tank, or just a tiny sausage, come out to support a great cause and see who gets crowned the ultimate Pronto Pup of 2026!

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.

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.

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.

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 partner-draw format. Prizes will be awarded to the top three teams.

The Dale Fall Fest will host a co-ed sand volleyball tournament on Saturday September 12th, starting at 8:00 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.

The 2026 Dale Fall Fest Wiffleball Tournament, hosted by The Wave softball team, takes place from Sept. 10–12 at the Dale baseball fields located behind the Lincoln Heritage Public Library and Community Center. The double-elimination tournament features three age divisions—11-Under, 12–17, and 18+—with games scheduled for Thursday evening (5:00–8:00 PM CT), Friday evening (5:00–9:00 PM CT), and Saturday (9:00 AM–2:00 PM CT). Teams must consist of 7 to 10 players, and the entry fee is $100 per team, which must be paid by August 22nd via Venmo (@WaveSoftball) or cash/check dropped off at The Color Bowl Salon in Dale. Participants can register using the online signup form on the page and must submit a completed Waiver of Liability prior to competing. For questions or additional details, organizers can be contacted by phone at 812-686-3554 or email at wavesoftball2@gmail.com.

Spencer County Habitat for Humanity is hosting the Cutest Pet Photo Contest at the Dale Fall Festival, where a trophy will be awarded to the 1st place contestant whose photos receive the most donations. Photos will be displayed during the festival, and voting will be done through donations for each photo, with winners announced at 8:30 pm Saturday night. To enter, email your owner name, address, phone number, pet’s name, and a candid photo to spencercountyhabitat@gmail.com no later than September 8, 2026. There are two ways to vote: by putting cash in the bucket of the cutest pet at Dale Fall Fest or via Venmo @SpencerCounty-Habitat (you must put the pet’s name on the Venmo payment), with all proceeds going to Spencer County Habitat.

Spencer County Habitat for Humanity is hosting its Pretty Baby Photo Contest at the Dale Fall Festival, open to children from birth to 3 years of age. To enter, email the parent’s name, address, phone number, child’s name, and a candid photo to spencercountyhabitat@gmail.com no later than September 8, 2026. Submitted photos will be displayed during the festival, where votes can be cast either by placing cash in the bucket for your favorite contestant on-site or via Venmo (@SpencerCounty-Habitat)—be sure to include the child’s name in the Venmo payment note. The first-place contestant with the highest donation total will be awarded a trophy when winners are announced at 8:30 PM on Saturday night, with all proceeds benefiting Spencer County Habitat for Humanity.