Fall Festival brings four days of fair fun

The smell of fried goodies, the rhythmic whir of carnival rides, cheers and dust rising from the rodeo grounds – Pahrump saw all this and more this past weekend as the town hosted its biggest celebration of the year, the Pahrump Fall Festival.

Transforming Petrack Park into a playland of autumn excitement, the 61st Annual Pahrump Fall Festival opened the evening of Thursday, Sept. 24 with an array of vendors set up around the southern fields, a cornhole tournament, an assortment of rides from Browns Amusement ready to thrill the young and young-at-heart and a midway filled with games and prizes. The event continued on through the entire weekend, incorporating plenty of live performances on the main stage, an Arts and Crafts/Food and Horticulture Exhibit inside the Bob Ruud Community Center, a car show, horseshoe tournaments, two nights of rodeo competition and one of the most popular attractions each year, the Fall Festival Parade. After all of the revelry and hometown fun came to a close, the Pahrump Fall Festival was once again declared a triumph.

“This year’s festival was wonderful,” Pahrump Buildings and Grounds Administrative Secretary and lead event organizer Courtney Kenney raved to the Pahrump Valley Times. “Overall, we are very pleased with the outcome and looking forward to a bigger and better year for 2027!”

Kenney wasn’t the only town official bursting with enthusiasm over this year’s festival, either. Pahrump Tourism Coordinator Jaynee Reeves said she, too, felt the festival was a fantastic event, telling the Times, “The Pahrump Fall Festival was a tremendous success, bringing the community together for a weekend filled with family-friendly activities, local vendors, food and entertainment. The strong turnout highlighted the continued appeal of the festival!”

Kenney reported that the 2026 Fall Festival saw 29 total carnival rides, more than have ever been featured in the past, along with the most vehicles ever entered into a Fall Festival car show. Hosted by Roses Paradise Home Health Care, the Roses Show and Shine Car Show took place the Saturday of the festival, with over 70 vehicles out on display.

“And the turnout of the public at the car show was huge,” Kenney detailed.

The Pahrump Fall Festival Parade was yet another activity that saw a record-breaking turnout, with 90 entries taking to Highway 160 for the Saturday morning procession. Highlighting the festival’s theme of “Stars, Stripes and 250 Years Strong”, these floats, vehicles and groups created a sea of red, white and blue, with America flags waving in the air and American icons like the Declaration of Independence and founding fathers all represented.

“The public was very pleased with the 250th birthday theme, we heard a lot of great things about that,” Kenney noted.

Taking the lead on organizing the Fall Festival Parade this year was the Kiwanis Club of Pahrump. Earning top honors were Aztec Secrets for Best Overall, Romero’s Restaurant for Best in Theme, Gym Kats for Best Youth and the Pahrump Junior High and High School Rodeo Club for Most Original, with Elite Kitchen taking home an honorable mention.

Kiwanis member Reva Braun offered thanks to all of the judges who helped with the parade, as well as to the entrants themselves for putting in such an effort to make the 2026 parade an incredible event.

“The judges had a really hard time picking winners, you were all so creative,” Braun enthused in a social media post.

Kenney said the vendors this year also saw a strong turnout, both in terms of booths offering all kinds of food, beverages and merchandise as well as customers visiting those booths.

“We had three vendors sell out completely and one of those vendors had to tear down Saturday night because they had sold out before Sunday,” she detailed. “The public has said they were happy with the various food vendors we had - there was a big mixture of all different types of food. The public was happy with the layout, too, and numerous people came up to us during the festival to give us compliments on the vendors, entertainment and the car show, which we feel went particularly well.”

Though it can be difficult to gauge exact attendance at an event with free general admission, Kenney said the town is projecting an estimated 40,000 people came out to Petrack Park over the course of the four-day event. Of course, with so many people inundating a single location, public safety was a priority and Kenney was quick to note that law enforcement and security did their duty in keeping the event safe.

Logistics-wise, we had a great working relationship with the Nye County Sheriff’s Office and Code 4 Security,” Kenney added. “We also had more deputies and private security this year, which is always a plus for the safety of the community.”

In conclusion, Kenney offered a shout-out to the top sponsors for this year’s Fall Festival, including United Rentals; Johnnie Walker RV; and Shamrocks &Shenanigans.

“Without our top sponsors, the Pahrump Fall Festival wouldn’t be possible,” Kenney stated, adding, “We also want to thank the Pahrump Rodeo Committee, Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue, Joyce Higginbotham with the Arts and Crafts show, Valley Electric, Shadow Mountain Feed, Kiwanis Club of Pahrump, Roses Show and Shine, Pahrump Valley Adult Softball and lastly, the town of Pahrump Buildings and Grounds staff.”

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com