Downtown Branson to hold first annual Downtown Fall Festival October 3-4

At its August 12, 2025, meeting, the Branson Board of Aldermen (BOA) took action to support the first of what they hope will become an annual event, the Downtown Branson Fall Festival in Historic Downtown Branson, on October 3-4, 2025. The festival’s purpose is to highlight downtown Branson through free activities, downtown business interactions and extensive fall decorations.

In requesting the funding, Heather Hermen, Chief Marketing Communications Officer for the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce &CVB, said that the festival will include free activities for attendees, including face painting, balloon animals, live music and various games such as ring toss, bobbing for apples and a candy corn guessing game. A scavenger hunt is on the schedule to encourage exploration of the downtown area, offering participants the chance to win Downtown Branson prizes, including a grand prize of a two-night stay with dining and shopping in Branson. Local businesses can partake in a Storefront Decorating Contest, with cash prizes of $1,000 for first place, $750 for second, and $500 for third.

The presentation also highlights that Downtown Branson will feature extensive fall-themed decorations, such as corn husk decor with pumpkins around light poles, pumpkins as landscaping in new planter areas, and “selfie stations” with hay bales, pumpkins and scarecrows on street corners. Balloon arches will also enhance walkways. The goal is an overall fall theme approach that resembles a downtown scene from a Hallmark movie. To encourage shopping among residents and visitors, businesses should stay open later and offer holiday shopping promotions, sales, or discounts.

Hermen said that Branson/Lakes Area Chamber & CVB is the DMO (destination marketing organization) for the Branson/Lakes Area and manages all facets of event execution, including creative and promotional tasks such as graphics, public relations, media buying, marketing and decorations. It will also handle things including event logistics and community outreach. The DMO possesses an extensive audience reach, with over 250,000 social media followers across Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, and over 100,000 newsletter subscribers for potential visitors. It has complete public relations capabilities, including software to disseminate news about the event nationwide, extending invitations to both visitors and locals.

There’s a full-scale marketing and public relations strategy in place to maximize publicity for the event. This includes promotion on KY3 television’s weekly Explore Branson segment beginning September 4, and through chamber and Explore Branson platforms such as their newsletters (reaching over 100,000 opted-in subscribers) and websites, starting in August. Explore Branson and the Branson Chamber will disseminate news via a nationwide press release distribution on the newswire and social media postings starting in August. Local outreach efforts include the creation, printing and distribution of posters to downtown merchants. Targeted digital advertising campaigns will take place across drive markets in Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma, besides a digital campaign with local media.

The proposed budget for the Fall Festival is $53,000 with the following expenditures: $15,000 for decorations, set-up and clean-up; $18,000 for music, performers and artists; and $20,000 for advertising and promotion.

Heather said the goal for the Fall Festival is to become a new annual event for Downtown Branson, occurring on the first weekend of October each year that will foster greater local sentiment and satisfaction for Downtown Branson.