Knox County Fall Festival this Sunday

You might have noticed that under Knox County Parks and Recreation’s new leadership – Joe Mack and company – there’s been a more positive change in the department’s culture and a deeper emphasis on the community.

Already he’s implemented the successful October Trunk or Treat event and next up is this Sunday’s first-ever Fall Festival. The event, which is free and open to the public, kicks off at 1 p.m. at Tommy Schumpert Park (6400 Fountain City Road) and wraps up at 4 p.m.

Visitors can enjoy hayrides and a chance to win prizes from outdoor games like cornhole, balloon pop, fishbowl toss and ring toss. Additionally, B97.5 will broadcast live from the park, the Knox County Public Library will host crafts and story time, and the disc golf course will be open to enjoy.

“Our recreation department has worked hard to really emphasize fun and community connectivity,” Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs said. “This is just another great event our team has put together for the public.”

The county plans to turn the Fall Festival into an annual event. Just last month, Parks and Recreation held its first-ever Trunk-or-Treat event at John Tarleton Park, which officials also plan to do yearly. Despite the rainy weather, roughly 1,000 people attended the fun-filled Halloween event.

Joe Mack is a true professional.

Speaking of great events, Mayor Jacobs on Monday will be joined by local philanthropist Randy Boyd and other elected officials to break ground on what will become Knox County’s newest dog park. The public is invited to attend the event, which will be held at Beverly Park at noon.

The county plans to build five new dog parks within the next couple of years thanks to a contest and grant program initiated and funded by the Boyd Family Foundation. The proposal – dubbed the Knox Neighborhood Dog Parks Plan – was designed to make Knox County No. 1 in dog parks per capita in the nation. The county is ranked No. 29 currently.

Residents voted last year, and dog parks will be built at Beverly Park, New Harvest Park, the SportsPark, Powell Station Park and Clayton Park, though specific park locations may be updated if the need arises.

The Boyd Family Foundation then agreed to donate $250,000 to build the parks. However, they are expected to cost much more, so they county is kicking in an additional $150,000.

In other parks news, our Concord crew is busy setting up the lights for the Holiday Festival of Lights at The Cove. This generally takes about a month to do. They’ve also been winterizing the restrooms, which means shutting down the water faucets and the toilets for the winter, so the pipes don’t explode. In fact, we’re closing most restrooms and fields from Nov. 8 through March 6 to winterize and for maintenance.

Jennifer Gentry with Senior Director Joe Mack

Mowing season might be over, but JD and his lawn crews are still at it! They’ve been blowing back the leaves and picking up trash throughout our park system (this week at Walker Springs Park and House Mountain, for example) and hitting the trails, like the 10 Mile Greenway.

Our one-man machine Frank Christian spent some time at Tommy Schumpert Park this week painting new lines in the parking lot. He should finish by the time this column is published. Frank said to me: “Please give Joseph Jackson from Schumpert Park staff a thanks for helping me with the painting here!” Will do, Frank!

On the recreation side of things, playoffs for the adult softball league fall tournament begin and basketball practice is underway. Additionally, a big shout out to Jennifer Gentry for earning teammate of the quarter. Jennifer, a long-time parks and rec member, helps with our sports operations.

Enjoy these photos from work around the parks: