For the past 42 years the Nisswa Fall Festival has been attracting thousands of guests from all over the Upper Midwest. They congregate on the small resort community of Nisswa for the one day event to celebrate the beginning of fall with crafts shows, wagon rides, live music, delicious food and pumpkin painting. For the last 10 years, the Smokin’ Hot BBQ Challenge has been a major part of the festival. Barbeque competitors descend on Nisswa to showcase their BBQ talents and to compete for the top prize. This makes for spirited competition and delicious food to sample, for those lucky festival goers that sign up to sample the spread (spots are limited). This event is not only for serious fans of BBQ, but for people of all ages. Some non-BBQ related things to enjoy include arts, crafts, wagon rides and live music. Children will love the Kids Zone that is filled with games, bouncy houses and fun activities. We had the opportunity to interview Shawn Hansen, the Director of the Nisswa Chamber of Commerce about the event and the community.
RAL: Tell me about some of the general information about the event.
SH: The Nisswa Fall Festival has been running for 42 years. It attracts from 5,000-8,000 people annually.
RAL: What is the typical demographic makeup of the event?
SH: The festival has something for every age and we think that’s one of the reasons we draw as well as we do. Families with kids will enjoy the pancake breakfast, Kid Zone and stage coach rides. Adults will love the beer garden, live music, BBQ contest, BBQ eats and the crafters market.
RAL: What makes the Fall Festival Unique?
SH: The Fall Festival has been going on for 42 years. 10 years ago, we added a Backyard BBQ contest which everyone loves. Kids have just went back to school, this gives people an opportunity to come back up to the lake, enjoy fall colors and a fun filled day in a resort community.
RAL: Take me through a typical Fall Festival day, focus on guest appearances, food options and overall environment.
SH: As far as guest appearances, Miss Nisswa and the Nisswa Citizen of the Year will be here to hand out trophies and the cash prizes to the BBQ winners. There is food for every meal starting with a pancake breakfast hosted by the Fire Department, then the various vendors will be selling food for lunch, and for dinner BBQ Contest eats! The environment is one of a outdoor festival. Kid Zone is held at Pioneer Village. Pancake Breakfast is at the Fire Hall. Crafters Market, BBQ Contest and Outdoor Music stage are all held at the Pickle Factory. We close of a couple city streets and within a 4 block radius so that you can do it all!
RAL: What can an attendee expect to find for local lodging?
SH: All of our resorts, B&B’s and hotels are open in the fall. Many of them run great specials after Labor Day. In the Brainerd Lakes Area, we are fortunate to have a lot of great options for lodging. While some of our mom and pops are getting ready to close for the season, we have several that stay open year round and of course, our larger properties such as Grand View Lodge, Kavanaugh's Resort, and Cragun's Resort are open year around.
RAL: Does the event drive business to your local economy?
SH: Our summer season is big in this area, having an off season event like this brings people back to their cabins. Our resort properties appreciate every head we put in a bed, and our restaurant and retail businesses are eager for fall visitors. This is a Chamber of Commerce promoted event. Any profit for the event is used towards the overall management of the Chamber, as well as put towards marketing efforts for our community.
RAL: Why should people come to the Nisswa Fall Festival and BBQ Challenge?
SH: This event has been our “event of focus” for the past couple of years. We’ve put a lot of extra effort into this event to grow it. It has a lot of potential to become one of the larger events we do in our community. Start your day with breakfast bring your kids for six hours of fun at Kids Zone. Mom can shop, dad can grab a beer and play in the bags tournament. You can all meet up for amazing BBQ and fantastic music with the Lisa Wenger Band and the Lamont Cranston Band!
For more information about the Nisswa Fall Festival, head to the property website.