The Pahrump Fall Festival has been a decades-long tradition in the valley and one that thousands of people, both locals and visitors alike, look forward to each year. So when the future of the event came into in question, the town of Pahrump stepped in to assume leadership.
As officials have repeatedly emphasized, the Pahrump Fall Festival is not intended to be a money-maker but rather, to bring the community together in celebration of the harvest season. But for the first time, the Fall Festival has turned a profit, albeit a small one, and the town’s buildings and grounds staff have now been authorized to continue operating the event for at least the next five years.
Town of Pahrump Buildings and Ground Administrative Secretary Courtney Kenney provided the Nye County Commission, acting as the governing body for the town, a report on last year’s festival during the board’s Feb. 19 meeting.
“For 2024, we brought in more sponsorship money on the festival side of things and that was the first year that the rodeo did sponsorships on their side of things,” Kenney reported. “We also went back to the alcohol sponsorships with the bars… In the previous year we did a contract where we got a percentage from the alcohol and we noticed that doesn’t work very well, it works better when we do the alcohol sponsorships.”
The town also decided to raise vendors’ fees by $50 in 2024, from $200 to $250 for for-profit vendors and $50 to $100 for nonprofits. The entertainment saw some changes, too, with a larger focus on local performers in an effort to keep costs for this segment of the festival low.
In 2024, it cost the town roughly $153,000 to host the Fall Festival and for the first time ever, the event saw a profit of just over $8,500.
As the festival is such a mainstay event in Pahrump, there were many members of the public who spoke on the nostalgic value and community positivity the event promotes, as well as the tourism dollars funneled into local businesses throughout Fall Festival weekend. But it wasn’t all supportive, with others questioning why the town was expending money to hold an event without the intention of creating revenue.
“If I compare this to the fireworks show we do every year [for Fourth of July], it’s the same thing,” commissioner John Koenig asserted in response. “We don’t make any money on the fireworks, we lose a ton of money on them but we do it for the people. The kids come, the people come, they love it… Same with the Fall Festival. It’s not intended to make a lot of money.”
Still others complained about the increasing costs attached to the Fall Festival, such as the price of carnival passes as well as vendor food and drinks. While officials acknowledged that this was certainly a reality in the inflation-driven economy, Koenig noted that a lot of the festival, including the entertainment, is accessible for free.
“There is no gate fee,” he remarked. “People can come in and walk around the park all day long and it doesn’t cost them a dime, if they want to do that,” Koenig remarked, adding, “We don’t control the cost of food, we don’t control the cost of rides.”
On the price tag of carnival tickets, Kenney said the town is no longer under contract with Paradise Amusements and will be seeking out new carnival companies to supply the rides and midway games.
“And a couple of things we are going to have in there (request for proposals) is lower ticket prices and no more split times on Saturdays, because that was a big thing, we do hear that from the public,” Kenney stated.
Commissioner Debra Strickland suggested that in light of the aim to negotiate new contracts for the festival, it might behoove the commission to grant the town a set number of years for operating the event in the future. This would give the town more leverage in negotiations as staff could guarantee the event would continue for that set time.
She then made the motion to approve the town buildings and grounds staff to continue operating the Fall Festival for the next five years. That motion passed with all in favor.
The 2025 Pahrump Fall Festival will be held Thursday, Sept. 25 through Sunday, Sept. 28 at Petrack Park.
Vendor applications are being accepted now through August 15. “However, spaces are limited and will be filled on a first-come-first-served basis,” an announcement from the county details. “Applications will not be accepted after all spots are filled. Review vendor application for full details and contact information.”
For more information on the event visit PahrumpNV.gov or VisitPahrump.com
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com