The smell of apples and cinnamon sugar in the air at Eudora United Methodist Church can only mean one thing: EudoraFest is right around the corner.
The annual fall festival is scheduled to take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 1. EudoraFest will feature several activities throughout the day, including an all-day car show, the Turtle Trot 5K and 10K runs, and a cornhole tournament on the basketball courts at CPA Park.
EudoraFest treasurer Rob Wiley said all proceeds from the Turtle Trot races and the cornhole tournament benefit the EudoraFest High School Seniors Scholarship Program and Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas City.
Several food, craft, and business booths will be set up along Main Street as well. One of the booths will be selling apple dumplings made by members of the Eudora United Methodist Church. The making of the apple dumplings is an important tradition for the members of the church.
“With it being a church member’s recipe and everybody together and it’s like mass production,” member Carol Schmidt said. “I just like how we can start with nothing and end up with a really yummy product. So, there’s a lot of tradition that people need.”
Members made about 130 pans in preparation for EudoraFest, but have already sold about 65 through pre-order sales. People can buy individual apple dumplings for $5 or a pan of six for $27 at the church’s booth.
Many more activities will take place at EudoraFest, such as the Great Kaw Adventure Race and the tractor pull event. There will also be a family fun zone set up in CPA Park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. where children can play on inflatables like an obstacle course or giant slide.
A new addition to EudoraFest will be a walking tour of Church Street given by Eudora Area Historical Society Executive Director Ben Terwilliger. The tour will start in front of the 1864 Holy Family Catholic Church on Ninth and Church Street at 10 a.m.
Then, Terwilliger will lead the tour up to Seventh and Church Street before going back down Birch Street and back to the starting point. Terwilliger said there will be about 20 buildings and churches he will stop at along the way.
“We just have always been open on EudoraFest at the museum, so we just wanted to engage with the people here a little bit more,” Terwilliger said about why the walking tour was added to EudoraFest. “And I figured there’d be a crowd down here anyway to go north. So why not try to offer a historical tour to try to educate the people but also give people a reason to come visit downtown Eudora?”
Terwilliger advises that people with mobility issues go back down Church Street rather than follow the tour to Birch Street as the sidewalks on Birch Street could be a tripping hazard.
The fire department will also be a part of the activities. There will be a health and resource fair at the station from 9 to 11 a.m. Fire Chief Mindy Andrasevits said the health department will provide an immunization truck, which will give COVID-19 vaccines, flu shots and childhood immunizations to the community.
Firefighters will also participate in a bike helmet giveaway for children. Then, Andrasevits said kids will have the chance to participate in a bicycle rodeo at the station.
Finally, when EudoraFest is over, the Eudora High School Performing Arts Center will open its doors at 6:15 p.m. for guests to see the Tennessee Mafia Jug Band perform live.
“We have a huge fan base in the Midwest, so we are expecting a pretty good show,” guitarist Mike Armistead said. “We love it up there, and we are excited to come to Eudora.”
EudoraFest organizers are selling tickets to the show in front of Zeb’s Coffeehouse from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and at Gene’s Heartland Foods from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 23 for $20. The concert will start at 7 p.m. and tickets cost $25 at the door.
For more information about EudoraFest and its activities, people can contact EudoraFest president Barbara Tuttle at [email protected] or call (785) 542-1751. Or visit the EudoraFest Facebook page.
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