Ah, finally October. The weather starts to cool down, scarves, boots and flannels start to make their annual appearances, and the ever so famous Pumpkin Spice everything returns for the season.

For the city of Evansville, however, October is especially known for the Fall Festival, the one-week event located on the West Side Nut Club.

People full of excitement come to this event for the mouth-watering fried foods- anything from Oreos to chicken and even brains can be cooked to a crisp- apple cider jugs, rides meant for children but attract those of all ages, and other means of entertainment.

Of course, I had every right to be stoked. I mean, who wouldn’t be?

As appealing as all of this sounds though, checking the Fall Fest off of my list of “firsts” lacked all the excitement and joy I had hoped it to have, and I was in fact, not nearly as stoked as I planned to be by the end of the night.

I was foolish to not think of how many people would show up to the Fall Fest, because there were, without a doubt, hundreds of people at this event. It was a struggle to maneuver your way through everyone, and to makes matters worse, the closely-knitted crowd gave rise to a strange aroma. Some sort of cigarette, beer, grease from frying everything and sweat which ultimately turned into a lovely body odor mixture– definitely not inviting at all.

Personally, it smelt like a summer event, not the cinnamon/apple/pumpkin/vanilla scent that fall is supposed to have.

A bluegrass/country music was being played, with a side of pop here and there. Not extremely inviting either, but it was tolerable. The entertainment consisted of a dancing/singing competition, and from what I saw and heard, a “minion dubstep” was performed, followed by a sad monologue dance which frankly, didn’t scream fall either.

My agenda for the night didn’t consist of spending loads of money, but noticing the large variety and quantity of food trucks meant otherwise. As my wallet got smaller, my stomach got fuller, and, surprisingly, I became satisfied.

Who knew frying Oreo’s, a delicacy itself, would make the snack 10 times more mouth-watering, and how a small cup of chicken and dumplings would make the five minutes of me stuffing my face feel like home.

Without a doubt, I had my fair share of positive and negative things happening that night, but overall, the Fall Festival wasn’t what I expected at all. It was for sure overwhelming, and if you’re someone who has social anxiety or gets claustrophobic easily, maybe watching the festival from the sidelines is the best option.

The odd odor, large groups of people who wouldn’t budge to let anyone through and the unintended yet intentional loss of money made me question if a reappearance would be made. I wasn’t pleased with the Fall Festival, but Evansville is home now, so I may as well make the annual October event my new tradition.

Maybe the West Side Nut Club will see me again next fall.