OWA’s Fall Festival boasts fun for the whole family

By Jessica Vaughn
Posted 9/26/19

FOLEY - OWA’s Fall Festival kicked off on Sat., Sept. 21 with speeches, beautiful dances performed by the Poarch Band of Creek Indian Dancers, Princesses, and Pow-wow Clubs, and tons of …

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OWA’s Fall Festival boasts fun for the whole family

Posted

FOLEY - OWA’s Fall Festival kicked off on Sat., Sept. 21 with speeches, beautiful dances performed by the Poarch Band of Creek Indian Dancers, Princesses, and Pow-wow Clubs, and tons of family-friendly activities to welcome autumn to the area. The festival is the first of its kind for OWA, and will be open every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday now through Nov. 3.

“We’re very proud of our Fall Festival,” said OWA General Manager Steve Honeycutt. “Our entire team at OWA and CIEDA [Creek Indian Enterprises Development Authority] has pulled together in the greatest exhibition of teamwork that I have seen in a long time.”

The outdoor festival has many fun features and gives guests ample opportunities to enjoy a wide-variety of activities including: a petting zoo featuring numerous types of animals such as a white bison, a kangaroo, and a zonkey, a pumpkin patch, pony and camel rides, vendors, and face painting. Food trucks are available onsite and live music will be performed nightly. Also onsite will be two separate corn mazes, one that is family-friendly and open during festival hours, and a haunted corn maze that will open only once dusk settles.

Guests may enter the festival grounds for free, though some activities may be an extra charge.

The festival will feature a recurring special Tribal exposition with assistance from the Poarch Band of Creek Indians Tribal Members and Cultural Team.

“CIEDA, along with the Tribe’s Culture Department, have developed a unique opportunity in Foley by creating this Tribal exhibit and cultural demonstrations,” said CEO of CIEDA Cody Williamson. “We hope that this is just the start of something that we plan on doing as far as museums and other exhibits to bring the Creek culture here. This Tribal exhibit gives you the chance to walk through the story of our ancestors, talks about our past, present, and future, and the cultural demonstrations will offer a glimpse at the beauty and history shared through our Tribal elders and members.”

The exposition will be open every Saturday during festival hours and will be free to experience.

For those looking for a fall activity a little more geared towards Halloween with a higher scare-rate, the Town of Terror will be returning for the third year. This time, guests are invited to enter Hotel MitcHELL, where guests check in, but don’t check out. Or if you’re looking for a Halloween experience with less of a fright hop over to the family-friendly Park After Dark series, taking place within the Park at OWA.

“This is just another example of the expansion of OWA, and we’re looking forward to even greater things coming along in the next few years,” said Foley councilmember Ralph Hellmich. “The cooperation between OWA and the City of Foley is very important to both of us, because this is such a great thing for the city and South Baldwin.”

On the line of new things coming in the future, Sushi Co. is now located across from Groovy Goat, and the candy store Sweet Tooth at OWA is opening its doors to customers. A wine bar has been announced, and both Lucy’s Retired Surfers Bar & Restaurant and Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen are slated for Nov. openings.

OWA’s Fall Festival is located on the eastern side of the property, adjacent to the Foley Beach Express. A trolley will run every 30 minutes from OWA’s Clocktower to take guests to and from the festival grounds, and parking will be free. For more information on all of the exciting things happening at OWA, check out their website at VisitOWA.com and be sure to follow them on Facebook.