ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Fall officially arrived in the Northern Hemisphere Sept. 22, and autumn lovers throughout the country have welcomed the season with open arms.
Thursday, Oct. 3, the Sublette Chamber of Commerce officially welcomed autumn to the Haskell County community with its annual Fall Festival.
Chamber Spokesperson Whitnie Verhage said there was plenty of fun for all those on hand.
“We had multiple businesses in town hand out hot chocolate and different beverages,” she said. “We had a couple of businesses do games like spin the wheel and archery, and we had a little kids train ride. We had a wagon with an actual horse, which gave free rides all night. The American Legion hosted bingo.”
For still more fun, a local insurance company hosted a chili cookoff and gave away free chili, and Verhage said about 15 vendors sold products, including a few food vendors.
Verhage said putting the Fall Festival together started with the work of a committee made up of eight people, and that work included three weeks lining up vendors and food truck.
“There was a lot of advertisement done on Facebook,” she said. “One of our chamber members went over to Copeland’s Fall Fest and passed out a QR code sign-up. We recruited a couple of vendors there.”
Moving forward to Oct. 3, Verhage said a small group of people set up and organized vendors, and Sublette’s Rotary Club likewise helped with putting the event together.
“It was really a large community involvement,” she said.
Verhage said having Fall Festival near the start of autumn was good timing for everyone.
“It was good to get everybody out in the community,” she said. “It was 75 degrees outside. It was really nice, and everybody was able to enjoy the outside.”
Verhage too credited the weather with an increase of vendors over the numbers from 2023.
“They were able to highly participate,” she said. “We had a bunch of kids show up this year because of the train and the archery game and cornhold throwing. It was overall a pretty good time.”
So overall, Verhage said the 2024 edition of Fall Festival went quite well.
“We had at least 100 people walking around if not more,” she said. “We had at least 26 participants at bingo. There was also a food donation at Centera Bank. If you brought a food item, you could spin a wheel for a prize. We ended up with quite a few food items off of that. There were quite a few participants.”
Verhage said the Sublette Chamber hosts a few other events throughout the year.
“We do a banquet every year, which is the chamber’s largest fundraiser,” she said. “It’s in January, and the meal is catered. They have a bunch of items they raffle off. We’re promoting small businesses in town. We have our Facebook page that has a bunch of events at the library. We’re helping our community do that.”
In December, Sublette will host its annual Christmas Parade of Lights, which Verhage said the Chamber supports, but does not host. The Chamber, she said, also donates money within the community.
“Last year, the Chamber donated quite a bit of money to the American Legion to get it cleaned,” she said. “They went in and did a 100 percent cleaning of the Legion. That was awesome.”
The most recent data shows Haskell County with a total population of around 4,200, and Verhage said she feels it is great for a small town like Sublette to have many events throughout the year.
“It’s a lot of family-oriented events and community events, and I think our community likes to keep our economic development growing,” she said. “I think the more we do these events, the more we know what businesses are in town. We try to stay within the community versus going to Garden, Liberal or Dodge. We’re highlighting more of what our community has to offer, and that’s spending the money within the community. It’s pretty beneficial.”
Verhage said one local business even helped out in a pinch during Fall Festival.
“Our wheel broke, so they took it to the lumber store,” she said. “The lumber store fixed the wheel, and we took it back to the bank. It’s stuff like that you don’t necessarily get in the bigger sized towns.”
Verhage said part of a small town like Sublette is community members helping each other, and she said the chamber helps in many ways, including promoting businesses through its Facebook page.
“They’re helping the community by giving back,” she said. “Our school is highly involved too because they have buyout games, and they have food sponsors. It’s a big circle. It all just keeps going.”
