Look, I was shocked when I learned this news.

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Fall in the Hoosier State

Fall is my personal favorite time of year, but it's especially fun in the Hoosier state. Not only do we have plenty of pumpkin patches and corn mazes to go and enjoy in the fall, we also have plenty of festivals.  There are two festivals in the fall that come to mind when I think of Indiana in the fall season, Evansville's own Fall Festival, and Parke County's Covered Bridge Festival.

The Largest Festival in  Indiana

If you would have asked me what festival was the largest in Indiana, I would have immediately said the West Side Nut Club Fall Festival with no hesitation.  I mean have you ever been to the Fall Festival during the evening?  It's always jam-packed with thousands of people who are trying to get in on some deep-fried deliciousness while helping out local nonprofits.  I mean, what's not to love?  But I recently learned Evansville's Fall Festival is NOT the largest festival in the state.  The largest festival in the state of Indiana is actually Parke County's Covered Bridge Festival.  As a native Evansvillian, I was SHOOK when I learned this.

Just How Many People Attend These Festivals?

This isn't to diminish the Fall Festival at all, it's truly incredible what the West Side Nut Club Fall Festival does for the community. According to the West Side Nut Club's official website, the Fall Festival draws in over 200,000 people annually.

When you think about the size of the city of Evansville, it's pretty incredible that we have an event every year that draws in more than 200,000 people.

This event attracts over 200,000 people to the West Side & is considered to be one of the largest street festivals in the United States.

While the Fall Festival is not the largest festival in the state of Indiana, I think there's certainly an argument for the fact that it's probably the largest street festival in the state.

The Covered Bridge Festival takes place every year in Parke County Indiana.  The festival is 10 days long and celebrates covered bridges.  There are actually 31 covered bridges throughout Parke County.  So how many people does the Covered Bridge Festival draw every year?  According to the Terre Haute Tribune Star, the Covered Bridge Festival draws in around 2,000,000 people per year.

Since its inception in 1957, the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival has become Indiana’s largest festival, luring about 2 million people a year.

 

The Best Part?  You Can Enjoy BOTH Festivals!

I have to be honest, the reason I learned this little fact was because I really want to attend the Covered Bridge Festival this year and I went to their website to check out the dates of the festival.  The best news is these two massive festivals don't overlap, so you can enjoy both festivals.

The West Side Nut Club Fall Festival will take place from October 1st-7th and the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival will take place from October 13th-22nd.  So go and get your fall fun on and enjoy a couple of Indiana's biggest (and best in my opinion) festivals!