More than 1,000 attendees packed the streets of Oceanside on Saturday, Oct. 18 for the third annual Oceanside Fall Festival, a community celebration hosted by the Oceanside Community Warriors.
After two consecutive years of rain, organizers said this year’s event — the group’s biggest of the year — finally brought the community together under clear skies.
“The goal is to give back to the community and have an event that brings the community together and unifies the community,” Brian Driscoll, one of the event organizers, said. “With the two years of rain, we lost a lot of people, so hopefully we start bringing them back gradually.”
The Oceanside Community Warriors, a volunteer-run nonprofit, launched the Fall Festival three years ago to celebrate the town and support local causes. Proceeds from the event go directly back into the organization’s community projects.
This year’s festival featured music, food trucks, a rock-climbing wall, face painting, a pumpkin patch and a beverage garden, drawing families to the closed-off streets for a full day of fall festivities.
About 30 local vendors participated, including six food trucks, the Oceanside Fire Department and the Oceanside Library. Guardian Bus Company was the event’s top sponsor, with Towers Funeral Home and the VFW also contributing.
Local businesses also took part in a series of crowd-pleasing food contests. Bonbino’s Pizza sponsored the pizza-eating contest, Sal’s Butcher Shop sponsored the meatball-eating contest and Front Street Bakery provided pies for the pie-eating competition.
Performances kept the energy high throughout the day. Pat’s Dance Studio presented a half-hour dance showcase, followed by two live musical acts who drew a large crowd: A Witch’s Brew performed in the afternoon, and Matt Wahl, a local musician, closed out the night.
“Our main goal was to bring the Oceanside community together, have everybody participate in some way, shape or form, and really highlight the best of this town,” organizer Jeanine Badalamenti said. “We are regular members of the community who want to focus on making Oceanside a better place.”
Driscoll said the Oceanside Community Warriors waste no time preparing for the next year’s celebration.
“The day after we finish, we pick a date for the following year,” he said. The group immediately distributes the date to vendors to secure early commitments.
This year’s smooth weather, strong attendance and enthusiastic response marked a turning point for the growing event. Organizers said they hope it continues to expand and strengthen community ties in the years ahead.
The Fall Festival has become a hallmark of Oceanside’s community spirit; it is a day when people can gather not only to enjoy food, music and fun, but to celebrate the shared pride of their hometown.
