West Side Nut Club Fall Festival begins Monday

The 98th annual West Side Nut Club Fall Festival begins Monday, October 07, 2019. The week long event has been an Evansville tradition since 1921. The festival occupies over four city blocks and will feature food, rides, music, pageants, contests and parades.

Once again the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office will maintain a tent at the intersection of W. Franklin Street and N. 11th Avenue next to the lost and found booth. At this location, sheriff’s deputies will be passing out yellow wristbands to children. The underside of the wristband can display a parent or guardians’ phone number, which may be used to reunite a child with a missing parent. We also have a supply of reflective wristbands to help keep kids visible during the evening hours.

Sheriff’s Office personnel will also be on hand to speak to the public about our recent recruitment efforts. The Sheriff’s Office is currently accepting applications for the position of Confinement Officer. Interested potential applicants are encouraged to stop by the Sheriff’s Office tent for additional information.

The Evansville Police Department will be providing law enforcement services throughout the festival grounds and will have a mobile command center stationed at W. Franklin Street and N. 10th Avenue.

The Sheriff’s Office offers the following safety tips for your visit to the Fall Festival:

• When you arrive at the festival, identify and point out officials your child can approach if they become separated from you. Describe the sheriff’s deputy and police officer uniforms, the Nut Club member hats and the fire official uniforms so your child knows who is safe to approach.
• Nothing takes the place of your supervision. Younger children can become distracted with all of the sights, sounds, smells, and crowds at the Fall Festival.
• If your child is old enough to be out of your eyesight, make sure they take a friend with them. There is safety in numbers (as well as more fun to be had). Remember to have your child check in on a regular basis. Identify where you will meet them and what time they should be there.
• If you become separated from your child, notify a sheriff’s deputy or police officer as soon as possible.
• Heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic will create an increased risk of accidents. Take your child by the hand when walking to and from the festival. Use caution when leaving the sidewalk. Consider using a paid parking lot to support a worthy cause.

Stop by the Sheriff’s Office Fall Festival tent, where you can talk to a sheriff’s deputy and pick up a free munchie map. You can also enter for a chance to win a 2019 Harley-Davidson Street Glide motorcycle from the Indiana Sheriffs’ Association (ISA). The motorcycle will be on display at the Sheriff’s Office tent all week long. Proceeds will benefit the families of deputies and officers killed in the line of duty as well as the ISA’s Youth Leadership Camps and Scholarship Program.

Sheriff Dave Wedding stated, “We want everyone who visits the Fall Festival this year to have a safe, fun and memorable time. Unfortunately every year a few people try to ruin the experience for the rest of us. Please report suspicious or illegal activity to law enforcement so that the situation can be quickly addressed.”

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