Pahrump Fall Festival a real crowd-pleaser

This September, the Pahrump community and its many visitors were treated to four days filled with fun and activities during the Pahrump Fall Festival, and after all was said and done, officials with the town of Pahrump were raving about the outcome of the much-anticipated large-scale event, declaring it to be a huge triumph and certainly one of the best festivals the valley has ever seen.

“We were all so pleased with the 2021 Pahrump Fall Festival,” town of Pahrump Tourism Director Arlette Ledbetter enthused following the event. “We offer thanks to the community for supporting the event, gratitude to the sponsors for their contributions and a heartfelt thanks to all staff and volunteers. There was such an incredible atmosphere of excitement and joy! The good time had by all are a great measure of success.”

The Pahrump Fall Festival kicked off the evening of Thursday, Sept. 23 at Petrack Park, with more than 180 vendors, a carnival full of rides and other amusements and live entertainment on the main stage.

The event had a brand new element this year with the addition of a fireworks show conducted by Zambelli Fireworks and just as event organizers had hoped, this feature was a big draw for attendees on the opening night of the festival.

At 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 23, Petrack Park was packed with patrons eager to get in on all of the fun and when the first of the incendiary devices lit the sky, there was an audible gasp of awe and excitement from those milling around the festival venue.

Eyes immediately turned upward as the bombs continued to burst overhead, spilling their bright colors across the crowd, and Ledbetter said this was something that had many attendees gushing with delight. It was such an awesome part of the event that event organizers are planning to incorporate the show as a permanent part of the festival in years to come.

“The response to the Fall Festival fireworks show was wonderful,” Ledbetter told the Pahrump Valley Times, noting, “We would like to add that to each year. Such an incredible display of fireworks by Zambelli!”

The festival continued over the following three days, Sept. 24, 25 and 26, with two nights of rodeo hosted by Nevada Western Heritage, a car show, hot air balloons, horseshoe tournaments, arts and crafts exhibits and the annual Fall Festival Parade all adding their own components of attraction throughout the event. Thousands of people made their way to the park over the course of the festival and if the snatches of conversation that could be heard throughout it all are anything to judge by, all those who attended found something to revel in during the Fall Festival.

As for Ledbetter’s favorite parts of the event, she remarked that the live performances were top-notch this year. “The entertainment was quality and my grandchildren’s favorite was the Princess Party on Saturday,” she said. “My favorite was the Latin music and dancing!”

Town of Pahrump Executive Assistant Alex Crow agreed, telling the Times, “The entertainment was great. Every single band showed up and did amazing. In my opinion, the top four bands were Duncan Faure on Friday night, the Sin City Unplugged Saturday night, the Paradise Rejects on Sunday and the band Arlette liked best, Latin Sound, a band from Los Angeles. They had so many people dancing, it was incredible!”

Both said the town has receive plenty of positive feedback from both patrons and vendors, some of which ran low on or even sold out of product during the event, an occurrence that had them keen to sign up for next year’s Fall Festival as well.

The town of Pahrump will be hosting the Pahrump Fall Festival again in 2022 and already, the community is eagerly setting its sights on the coming event, with confidence that it will be just as amazing as the 2021 Pahrump Fall Festival proved to be.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com