Every year for the past 50 years, congregants of the Nashville United Methodist Church have gathered at Main and Jefferson Streets on the first Saturday in October.
This year is no different, as the community looks forward to FallFare, set for Oct. 1.
Not only is the event a day filled with shopping, fellowship and food, it serves to benefit local, state and even international nonprofits.
This year’s event features 12 booths, each selling items made and collected by church members.
The theme for FallFare is “Every FallFare dollar goes to someone in need” and the effort supports 25 to 30 local, state and international organizations.
From hunger relief, housing or donations to local groups like the Brown County Literacy Coalition, FallFare has had a wide-ranging impact over the course of 50 years.
NUMC Pastor Mary Cartwright said FallFare supports a lot of different organizations that are important outreach efforts in the community.
Local groups include that regularly receive funds include Mother’s Cupboard, Habitat for Humanity, Access Brown County, Scouts, God’s Grace, Weekend Backpack Program, and Turning Point Domestic Violence Services, among others. At the state and international level, FallFare supports the Lebanon Children’s Home, UMCOR Disaster Relief and Mission Guatemala.
It began as an effort to raise money for NUMC to purchase new pews and make other improvements around the church.
Jane Huffman was in her early 30s at the time, and remembers her nylons snagging on the old church pews.
The Women of Methodist Wesleyan Guild decided to hold a sale at the church that would replace the pews and sanctuary carpet. A committee formed and the first official FallFare was set for October of 1972.
They brought in about $300 that year, Huffman said.
She volunteered to chair the event that year. This year, her role is the same. Huffman said she is the only one left from the original FallFare event.
“It grew and it became an event,” she said. “It’s been on first Saturday in October as far back as I can remember.”
Between 1973 and 1974, the men of the church joined the effort, managing booths at the sale, kids sold crafts and Scouts sold popcorn. The Village Café opened in the NUMC fellowship hall.
In 1975 the event moved to the Village Green in downtown Nashville, where it has been ever since. It now included a farmers market, which carries on today as the Nature’s Bounty booth.
The Book Nook debuted in the basement with 25- and 50-cent prices.
The following year, “FallFare” was coined as the name.
“Everybody did a little tiny bit of something and it all worked out,” Huffman said.
Over the course of 50 years, memorable moments are sure to be accumulated.
In 1986 the gazebo at Jefferson and Main Streets featured live music, but bad weather became an issue. The gazebo had been double-booked that day, Huffman said, with a wedding to take place.
Since neither could be outside due to the weather, both moved indoor to the church.
“All went well,” she said.
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After they had completed different projects at the church, the planning committee decided to give funds raised to nonprofits.
Booths with various vendors have accumulated over the years, with several changing names, but offering the community favorite goods. In 2008, a record 16 booths were at FallFare.
Huffman said that in 2020, COVID hit the group hard. But, even through a pandemic they found a way to keep the event running.
Heather Mollo and RheaEllen Boley were chairs on the event that year and allowed people to make donations online, bringing in more than $11,000 with virtual sales.
In 2021, it resumed as usual, with good weather and crowds, Huffman said, and $13,720 was raised for nonprofits.
Organizers have seen rain, wind and cold. One year, Huffman said, they experienced heat high enough to melt candy at the candy booth.
“Pandemics and everything else, but it has gone on,” she said.
The organization of the event has changed very little since its inception, Huffman said.
“It just takes everybody doing their small part,” she said.
“Bake a pie, work in a booth, clean out your closets for Unexpected Treasures. Everybody can do that. If everybody does a tiny bit, it works.”
FallFare is not just about raising money, Huffman said.
“The mission of this is I always felt, yes we need to make money, but it’s one thing that can pull the congregation together,” she said.
“This is what we do, this is why we do it. It is also the gathering of a congregation. It unites us.”
The fun will continue on Oct. 2, with a dinner celebrating 50 years of FallFare at the church. All are invited, Cartwright said.
The chairman of a given booth at FallFare chooses where 25% of the booth’s income goes. The other 75% is put into “the pot,” Huffman said, which is divvied up to at least 20 organizations at a FallFare committee meeting.
“We try to spread it around to as many nonprofits as possible,” Huffman said. “They’re very grateful.”
Homemade pies have always been a big element of FallFare, Huffman said. One year the event earned $700 on pie alone.
“I think it’s remarkable,” Huffman said. “Everybody works on it. It’s an awful lot of people who work behind the scenes.”
Cartwright said they like to say “the church has left the building,” when it comes to the outreach event.
FallFare serves to encourage people to be active and share in the community as an expression of Christian faith, she added.
“It’s had a big impact on our church, to get together to make things and spend time together. It’s been good for our congregation. If you’re here, you’re doing something. It takes everybody, just about.”
FallFare fun
A few of the highlights at this year’s FallFare include:
● The Puzzle Store: The newest booth selling high-quality, gently-used puzzles
● My, Oh My, We Luv Pie: Homemade pies made by church members and sold whole or by the slice
● We Made It: Locally handcrafted items from knitters, quilters and woodworkers
● Nature’s Bounty: Freshly picked apples, pumpkins, gourds, dried herbs, candied pickles and fruit jellies harvested from local gardens
● Adopt- A-Pot: – indoor/outdoor plants and other gift items in creative pots.
● Art and Silent Auction: Local fine art, themed baskets, and local restaurant gift cards sold to the highest bidder and distributed at 3 p.m.
● Book Nook: Hundreds of hardback, paperback and children’s book titles
● Boutique: Gently used jewelry, hats, scarves, belts and purses
● Unexpected Treasures: Bargains on gently used furniture, lamps, kitchen items, draperies, tools, and sports equipment
● Village Café: FallFare casserole and biscuits and gravy for breakfast and cold drinks and hot sandwiches for lunch served by Scout Troop 190
● Baked Goods: served by Brown County’s Girl Scout Troops
● Live music: On the Village Green from local musicians
FallFare will be Saturday, Oct. 1 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Main and Jefferson Streets.
Join in
Want to join the fun? Find a way to get involved with FallFare by calling the Nashville United Methodist Church at 812-988-4666.
