Fall begins in Clawson with annual festival

CLAWSON — The annual Clawson Fall Festival is coming up on Sept. 28 and includes plenty of beloved local traditions.

The 2024 Fall Festival is going to have an artisan market, kid-friendly activities, cider, doughnuts, food trucks, hayrides, the Clawson Senior Center’s annual bake sale, and the popular Clawson Fire Department bonfire.

This year the event will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. at Clawson City Park, located at 935 N. Custer Ave. It is a free event.

Lisa Ball, Clawson’s assistant director of recreation, said that ever since she became a Clawson resident more than 20 years ago, she has tried to attend every fall festival she could with her son.

Ball has been part of the process of getting the festival up and running for a few years now and said this year will have some extra activities for children.

“We are going to have inflatables from Oakland County there that day, so we have a lot more kids activities, probably more than we have had in the past,” she said. “It is a very family-friendly festival.”

Each year, according to Ball, the fall festival has a great turnout with hundreds of people attending. She and the team working on this event are hoping for a bigger turnout this year, as they have recruited a few more artisans and nonprofits to join in.

“There are a lot of things going on in such a short period of time, but it seems to be growing more and more every year,” she said. “More nonprofits and local businesses are wanting to get involved, which we are excited about.”

Working on the Fall Festival for the first time is Scott Jennex, the director of recreation and senior services, who said that his experience has been both fun and fulfilling. He is working alongside Ball to make this event happen for the Clawson community.

“We are trying to do something that we have never done before, but so much of it has been done really well, and it’s a staple in Clawson and something people look forward to,” Jennex said.

Jennex said that they were able to incorporate the inflatables from the Oakland County mobile recreation center through a grant from the county’s Recreation Assistance Partnership Program. He said that without the grant, the inflatables would cost the city $750.

“It is a mini-grant program that they have that allows the local parks and rec departments to apply each year and get opportunities for mobile recreation units to come to their local city,” Jennex said.

Another major draw pulling people into the Fall Festival is the bonfire put on by the Clawson Fire Department. Both Ball and Jennex mentioned that this is a fan-favorite event and something of a tradition in the Clawson community.

“I think it has grown into something that our residents really associate with being in Clawson,” Jennex said. “Just like the Fourth of July, it’s a huge event here ... and in the same way the bonfire at the end of the Fall Festival is a very close event and epitomizes the ‘little city with a big heart.’”

At the festival, attendees will be able to purchase homemade bread being sold by the Senior Center. The funds raised will be going directly to the Senior Center’s activities and programs.

Ball is hoping this year that the Fall Festival will continue to bring the community of Clawson together and that the weather will allow for a sunny, fall-like day.

“It’s a place for the community to connect and create memorable experiences with their family, friends and neighbors,” she said. “The weather is always tricky this time of year. So, hopefully, we have another warm day. As long as it doesn’t rain, I’m happy.”