Dancing Downtown Kicks Off the Festival of Leaves With Food and Live Music

Beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 11, the downtown Front Royal Gazebo was a scene of merriment as many gathered for food, live music, and dancing to kick off the fifty-second annual Festival of Leaves. This fall experience in the historic downtown of Front Royal began on Friday and continues in earnest on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., featuring many things including seventeen food trucks, two hundred vendors, and ongoing live music. The event is a celebration of Front Royal and its history of small-town convenience, inviting locals as well as visitors to support the businesses that have made small-town living possible for many years.

Attendees of the Friday kickoff for the Festival of Leaves gather around the downtown Gazebo to enjoy food and live music. Royal Examiner Photo Credits: Brenden McHugh.

In a festival brochure, discovering the magic of Front Royal is the theme. “Front Royal is a colorful mountain town full of adventures for everyone. It’s a place where the mountains meet the sky, where the river winds through fields of green, where history comes alive in our historic district and along the footsteps of Civil War Trails, where artists paint the town bright, where delicious meals become art of their own, where families find a place to call home. With the entrance to Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park at the south and the Shenandoah River at the north, Front Royal is a place where anyone can find peace within nature and within themselves. The Town celebrates its 236^th birthday this year, and we are honored to be the backdrop to such an extraordinary festival of nature.”

The Front Royal Police Department provides security at the event. It is among their duties to make sure there is no underage drinking or people entering the premises without paying the $5 admission fee. (L) Sergeant Suess and (R) Corporal Lethcoe.

The Front Royal Independent Business Alliance (FRIBA) has taken the mantle in terms of presenting the festival. Previously sponsored by the Warren Historical Society, the festival is now in the hands of FRIBA as they partner with the Town of Front Royal and Warren County to make this annual event the magical time it has always been. In the festival brochure, FRIBA is described as having been established in 2012 “with the aim of raising public awareness about the superior overall values offered by our local businesses and the impact of our daily spending decisions on our community. It also focuses on nurturing and enhancing Front Royal and Warren County’s proud and passionate community of local businesses. We support, educate, and give a voice to local, independent businesses, helping them compete with national chains. FRIBA is one of over eighty affiliates of the national organization, American Independent Business Alliance (AMIBA).”

Dancing here, William Huck, owner of C&C Frozen Treats, helps create the positive vibe while the band Souled Out provides the live music.

The day is still young, and it is not too late to participate in the magic of the Festival of Leaves. Continues Saturday until 6 pm.

Rick Novak, a Front Royal businessman who wears many hats, helps to facilitate the Friday kickoff of the festival.