Summit Fall Fest won’t fall victim to 2020

June 3, 2021

http://www.enterprise-journal.com/news/article_d588208a-f86c-11ea-9553-23899055a93d.html

There will be plenty of arts, crafts and pies but no pancakes in Summit on Oct. 10 when the town’s annual fall festival will return with some pandemic-related modifications.  

Carol Ann McMorris of the Summit Partnership, which sponsors the festival, recently told the McComb Exchange Club what’s in store.

“We are going with it. A lot of places are canceling,” she said, noting that annual fall celebrations in Wesson and Brookhaven have been iced. Canton’s mayor vetoed aldermen’s approval of the town’s twice-annual flea market and the board overrode that veto on Monday.  

McMorris said 30 vendors will be selling merchandise and another five will be selling food at the festival, and more are expected to sign up.

Keys vs. Strings, featuring musicians Topher Brown and Marvin Curtis, will provide musical entertainment, along with the North Pike High school rock band ensemble, Hippies in the End Zone. A pie-baking contest is a new addition to this year’s festival and is open to amateur bakers.  

The pandemic has brought some changes, including the cancelation of the annual Summit Rotary Club pancake breakfast that coincides with the festival, McMorris said.  

“Our booths will be spread out more this year than normal to comply with social distancing,” she said. “As far as the people coming, they’re pretty much going to have to police themselves and we’re hoping they will.”

McMorris noted the town held Smokin’ on the Tracks in June — coincidentally when Pike County’s COVID-19 transmission was low and comparable to recent transmission rates — “and things went well with that.”

Downtown merchants are getting ready for the festival by participating in a scarecrow decorating contest, with winners announced at the festival.  

“The main reason we do this is to encourage people to come to Summit,” McMorris said. “Our merchants do a record business that day. It’s like Christmas in one day for them.”

Vendors still have time to secure booths, which are $150 for food, $65 for a 12-by-12-foot space and $130 for a 12-by-24-foot space, and electricity is available. A registration form is available on the Town of Summit Mississippi Fall Festival Facebook page.

“We’re hoping for a good, safe day,” McMorris said.