Whitehall Chamber & Others Gearing Up for Annual Fall Festival October 22nd

It's that time of the year again! The leaves are beginning to fall and Whitehall's Annual Fall Festival is a month away! Start planning now! The festivities will be held throughout town on Saturday, October 22.

VENDORS

The Whitehall Chamber has MANY more spaces available this year, as they will be hosting three different locations of vendors around town in addition to the Chili Cook-Off being held at the Assembly of God Church. They will be able to accommodate a very large number of vendors, however, since they reserve the right to limit the number of businesses with the same product, service, or profession, get your vendor applications in as soon as possible. Vendors should plan to be available from 10 AM to 4 PM on October 22 but are welcome to stay open later to accommodate the haunted house opening at 6 PM if they choose.

Please take or mail your registration form WITH payment to the Chamber office (501 North Whitehall Street, Whitehall, MT 59759). Registration forms received without payment will NOT be reserved. Registrations will be taken on a first-come, first serve basis.

CHILI COOKOFF

The Whitehall Chamber will also be putting on a Fall Festival Chili Cookoff. Check-in begins at the Assembly of God Church at noon on the 22nd, with judging beginning at 1 PM. Get a bowl (or two, or three) of gourmet homemade chili between 2 PM and 4 PM. Participants must file an entry form with a $20 check for chili entries made to the Whitehall Chamber of Commerce to reserve a spot by October 12th. Late entries will not be accepted.

Chili powder and other spices are fine and dandy, but complete commercial chili mixes are not permitted. Thickeners such as corn meal, masa, or flour are allowed – so are canned tomatoes, chipotles, and beans. Hate to be this obvious, but no canned chili allowed ... just sayin'. A complete list of rules and regulations is available at the Whitehall Chamber of Commerce office. The winning chili maker will be presented with big bragging rights and $150 in Chamber Bucks. The decision of the judges is final. The public will select the People's Choice Award for chili, which will be awarded $50 in Chamber Bucks.

COSTUME CONTEST

No need to pre-register to be judged, just show up at 1 PM at the Whitehall Community Center.

• Infant and Tot: 0 - 5 years old

• Kids: 6 years old - 12 years old

• Teens: 13 - 17 years old

Put together a creative, spooky, funny, or imaginative costume and wear it on your body. All costumes are welcomed; it doesn't make any difference if they are homemade, magically found, simply appear with a flick of a wand or even purchased or rented, but please keep it G-rated as this is a family event.

If you have already won in a previous year with a fabulous costume, leave that costume at home, you cannot enter with the same costume again.

You must be between 0-17 years old and not be dead. However, you MUST have a pulse. If you appear to be dead that is OK. All members must be human or humanoid. No animals, or pet creatures, please.

The first division will be called up and asked to line up in the designated area. Stand-up straight and tall, or hunched over, sitting in an outhouse, or even lying in a coffin, whatever it takes to make your costume look the best to the judges. If you can't walk, or wobble when you walk, that's ok. Everyone will parade through the designated area.

Costume winners will be determined by the Fall Fest Committee Chairs. Repeat for the next divisions. Prizes will be awarded at three levels within each division.

SCARECROW CONTEST

The Whitehall Chamber will hold its first annual Business Scarecrow Contest over the month of October, with winners announced at the Fall Festival. More details are pending - stay tuned!

PIE AUCTION AND PIE BY THE SLICE

The Whitehall Garden Club will once again host a pie auction for local non-profit organizations, as well, as a chance to taste pie by the slice. More details coming soon!

CARNIVAL

Gold Junction Presents will host its second annual GJP Carnival, an opportunity for other organizations to make a little money while having a lot of fun! Here's the gist: sign up for a carnival game and decide how many tickets it will cost to play your game (1, 2, or 3). GJP will sell $1 tickets at the ticket booth; when you have someone play your game, collect the appropriate amount of tickets and mark your organization's name on the back. Make sure to provide some prizes for your participants!

At the end of the night, tickets will be collected and counted. Your organization will receive 75% of the money collected and the other 25% will go to Gold Junction Presents for future arts and cultural presentations! It's a win-win for all involved!

HAUNTED HOUSE:

Now in its fourth year, the Screams Come True Haunted House and Hay Maze will be open and ready for all on Friday, October 21st, and extra scary for the Fall Festival on the 22nd. New this year is an escape room scenario, complete with three rooms to venture out of. Remember, this is a non-profit event where a percentage of tickets sold goes to the Whitehall American Legion and VFW!

The usual is on the roster for Screams Come True 2022 - all your nightmares combined into one detailed House of Terror. Tickets are available at http://www.screamscometruemt.com and at the door.

Interested in being a part of the scare festivities? Building on the haunted house begins the week of September 20th and will continue up until the opening day. Builders and scarers can call 406-498-3807 to see what help is needed.