The Allegheny Toyota Autumn Leaf Festival is a nine-day festival held annually in Clarion, Pennsylvania in the United States. It features food, events and entertainment, carnival rides, cultural nights, as well as the PennWest Clarion homecoming weekend which includes a football game and concerts. More than 300,000 people attend annually.[1][2]

History

A picture of the Crafter's Day during the Autumn Leaf Festival where patrons come to find items from food to furniture.

The event began in 1953 and became the first recognized Autumn Leaf Festival to be held during the Clarion State College homecoming. Businesses were asked to decorate for the occasion, with Ruth Neiger from Brockway serving as Homecoming Queen that year.[3]

In 1954, a larger festival was held to attract more people to the area. There were two parades. The first was held from 9:30 a.m. until noon, and it included Veterans of Foreign Wars, Girl Scouts, volunteer firemen, the Lions Club, the Autumn Leaf Queen’s float, and seven Clarion County bands. The second parade was the Clarion State Teachers College homecoming parade, was held two and a half hours later. It included floats made by local fraternities, and local sororities also joined in the parade.

In 1956, the annual “Tournament of Leaves” parade was part of the Clarion State Teachers College Homecoming. Clarion businesses donated monetary prizes for the float competition, for which the theme followed movie titles.[3]

In 1958, the Autumn Leaf Festival became a permanent event, and the Chamber implemented a committee to organize the annual festivities. The Miss Teen Autumn Leaf Festival scholarship pageant, which started out as a homecoming queen riding in the parade, became a permanent event in 1977.

The Farmers and Crafter's Day usually occur on the last Friday of the nine-day festival. That event started in 1977 and was originally called the Farmers and Merchants Day Craft Show. On this day, 10,000-plus patrons and students come out to observe, buy from, or promote, the craft stands that lined both sides of the main street in Clarion. PennWest Clarion gives its students a "mid-semester break", so they can attend the Crafter's Day the following day.[4]

The annual fair welcomes turnout from High schools and Colleges, which work together to produce floats for the festival parade. With bands, cars, horses, marching units, and drill teams joining the floats, the 2009 parade lasted an hour and 15 minutes and was described by the Clarion Republican that year as the “Best Autumn Leaf Festival Yet”.[3]

References

  1. ↑ techreadypro. "70th Annual Allegheny Toyota Autumn Leaf Festival™". Clarion Chamber of Business & Industry | Clarion PA. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  2. ↑ "The Ultimate Guide to the 69th Annual Autumn Leaf Festival". exploreVenango.com. 2022-09-23. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  3. 1 2 3 "History". autumnleafclarionpa.com. Archived from the original on July 1, 2009. Retrieved June 8, 2011.
  4. ↑ Scott Lyon. "Changing Leaves". pabook.libraries.psu.edu. Archived from the original on 2013-05-15.
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