Oakmont Fall Festival returns with cornucopia of seasonal activities

With autumn finally here, it’s time for a recent local tradition, the Oakmont Fall Festival, on Oct. 30.

Started in 2019, this year’s event, which is hosted by the Oakmont Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by the Greater Pittsburgh Tree Service, will kick off at 10 a.m. with a parade and continue until 3 p.m. on the upper Allegheny River Boulevard. It’s scheduled to feature a cornucopia of seasonal activites.

Everyone is invited to the parade — adults, children, and pets — and costumes are highly encouraged. Participants are asked to line up on Isabella Street behind the Kwik-Fill at 9:45 a.m. and will start the parade on Washington Avenue and continue down Allegheny River Boulevard to Pennsylvania Avenue. Following the parade, all participating children will receive a treat bag for trick or treat.

One of the highlights of the parade is the Riverview High School marching band. Karen DeTurck, director of the Chamber of Commerce, said, “We’re really excited to have the Riverview Marching Band. ”

Following the parade, the area’s businesses will be open for the kids to continue trick-or-treating. The storefronts will be giving out candy from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. In addition, the Chamber of Commerce has 25 vendors lined up to set up shop along the Boulevard. The vendors will offer food, crafts and various seasonal items.

There will be a wide array of all-ages-themed activities scheduled for the day, including pumpkin painting, a Chinese auction and a 50/50 raffle. There is also a day full of live music planned underneath the clock tower across from the Oakmont post office. The music will be sponsored by Presby Senior Care.

The chamber also has organized a scarecrow contest, in which competitors will display their homemade scarecrows along the Oakmont walking path, and festival patrons will be invited to vote on the best submission. In addition, they also have organized a “pie walk” in which different vendors will line the walkway, each featuring a different flavor or type of pie. Attendees can buy a ticket to take the pie walk and sample piece of each available pie.

Moonbeam Cafe, a coffee shop situated along the Boulevard, will be setting up a booth with the Sanderson Sisters, offering tarot card readings.

And finally, Weird Eric will be making an appearance. Eric is a local Pittsburgh-based magician and balloon-maker, who has won numerous awards for his balloon-making skills. Springer Insurance Agency on Hulton Road is sponsoring his appearance at the festival.

This year’s event takes on a special meeting, with many friends and family members having limited time together over the past 18 months because of the covid-19 pandemic. DeTurck said, “We are very excited to be having events again. Most people are vaccinated and ready to be out and about. Oakmont is ready to be lively again. … It’s going to be a really good fall in town. First, we have this Fall Festival and parade, and then less than a month later on Nov. 20, we’ll be following that up with our Hometown Christmas Celebration. It’s going to be fun.”

If you go: The Oakmont Fall Festival is set for Oct. 30 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Parade lineup begins at 9:45 a.m. Facemasks are encouraged, but not required.