From 3 until 5 pm before the festival, folks are invited to four open houses. The following homes that are for sale will be open for tours: 1606 Harrison Street, 1600 Monroe Street, 327 Fountain Avenue, and 428 Harahan Boulevard.
The festival includes free food and activities including the roasting of hot dogs and s’mores. Families will enjoy games, crafts, dance demonstrations, hay rides, and a costume contest for kids. The costume contest will be at 5:30 pm. There will be three age categories: 0-5 years, 6-11 years, and 12 years and older. At dusk, the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (rated PG, 121 minutes) will be shown on the inflatable screen. Enjoy popcorn and lemonade while watching the movie. A limited supply of goodie bags will be available for festival attendees.
For the safety of the participants during the festival and to provide a route for the hay ride wagon, Fountain Avenue will be closed to northbound traffic from Monroe Street to Lang Park. Streets also that will be blocked and closed to traffic are Harrison from Fountain Avenue to North 16th, North 16th between Harrison and Madison Streets, and Madison from North 16th to Lang Park.
This month, the Kentucky League of Cities awarded the Fountain Avenue Neighborhood Revitalization Project with an Enterprise Cities Award. The award recognizes city projects or programs that make a true impact on their communities. Since the Paducah Board of Commissioners adopted the plan in 2007, 36 new homes have been constructed in the neighborhood. So far, 84 existing homes have seen rehabilitation investments of more than $10,000 with 47 of those home having investments of more than $50,000. There has been more than $13 million in public and private reinvestment in the neighborhood.
The Fountain Avenue Neighborhood is a neighborhood filled with 100 year old homes. Fountain Avenue, Park Avenue, North 13th Street, and the alley between Monroe and Jefferson comprise the boundaries of the neighborhood. The main goal of the revitalization project is to turn the neighborhood back into an economically diverse neighborhood similar to its character 80 to 90 years ago. When revitalization commenced in 2007, approximately 80 percent of the structures were in disrepair. The neighborhood has been improved with an increase in home ownership, dozens of new or rehabilitated structures, and a decrease in the crime rate. City and state incentive programs have spurred the development in the neighborhood.
For more information about the Fountain Avenue Neighborhood including available lots and homes, call the Planning Department at 270-444-8690 or visit www.fountainave.com.
The Fountain Avenue Fall Festival is brought to you thanks to community partnerships among the Paducah Planning, Parks Services, and Police Departments; Amazing Grace Lutheran Church; Fountain Avenue United Methodist Church; Margaret Hank Memorial Cumberland Presbyterian Church; McCracken County Public Library; Midtown Alliance of Neighbors;
and all the wonderful neighborhood residents.
and all the wonderful neighborhood residents.
