BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

MASSENA -- Fall Fest will once again grace the village of Massena this October, with expanded offerings and possibly new events.
According to Village Trustee Shelyn Peets, the festival has been scheduled for Oct. 12, with vendor applications available for anyone interested.

Village Administrator Monique Chatland commented during the recent village board meeting that an interested party had also reached out recently about hosting a car show during the festival. She said she was unsure if they meant just to host one for Fall Fest or if they intended to have a regular schedule of car shows.

The show would be new to Fall Fest, however, according to Laura Pearson, who represents Massena with the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce, it’s something that could be a huge success.

“I’d be happy to help out. We’ve been doing the Car-B-Que for 20 years and it does work. I haven’t been doing it that long. I’ve been doing it for 10 years. But I’d be happy to reach out,” she said.

Pearson is also the chamber representative for Ogdensburg and has played a role in car shows for a number of years now, she said.

She said timing would be key to ensure the best turnout, noting that she ran into issues with multiple car shows that operated at the same time as Car-B-Que without their prior knowledge.

“I’m going to reach out to all those places this year, before next year, so we can get them all on the calendar and figure out if we can stagger them so we’re not all competing for the same people. There’s a lot of car people out there but they have to pick and choose where they want to go to,” she said.

Multiple car shows have been hosted locally, including throughout Massena pre-COVID, as well as Brasher and Louisville, however shows throughout Massena have been on hold for a few years now, officials said.

For more information about Fall Fest, visit www.exploremassena.com/fallfest/