In Mitchell, Indiana, the annual Persimmon Festival is a chance to meet up again. When the weeklong celebration ended on Sept. 26, families and visitors lined downtown streets for its grand parade, watching floats, horses, tractors and cars make their way past.
For some, the festival is a tradition that reaches back to childhood. Charla and Nelson Terrell told WFIU/WTIU News they had attended since they were children, later brought their own children, and now return with their grandchildren. Their family story is one of the ways a local celebration can travel across generations: people make memories, then bring the next generation along to make some of their own.
The Terrells called it “a grandparent thing,” the station reported. Other returning visitors described a different kind of reunion: catching up with old classmates and friends they might not have seen in a long time. One longtime attendee told the station the festival felt “like a small hometown reunion.”
That sense of return was visible alongside the parade. WFIU/WTIU reported that some visitors had grown up with the festival, while others came for the first time. Deanna Pfaff traveled from Sunman with her husband and two children. Angela and Jeff Hicks came from Jasper after hearing about the festival from someone they knew. Their trips joined a week that brings people from Mitchell and beyond into the same downtown gathering.
The Persimmon Festival is now in its 79th year. Its organizers say it began in 1947, when Mitchell native George Bishop planned a three-day, late-October homecoming for people who called Mitchell home. The festival’s official history traces its growth into a weeklong celebration spanning downtown Mitchell and Spring Mill State Park.
Today, the festival’s all-volunteer staff plans nightly music, craft shows, food, a carnival, a historical re-creation, car shows and contests. That range gives visitors several ways to take part beyond the parade. WFIU/WTIU’s reporting captured people who return for familiar faces and traditions, families who bring children and grandchildren, and first-time visitors discovering the event.
The reporter also found a returning attendee building new ties through the festival. Ryland Davis had attended for about 10 years and participated as the Lawrence County Fair Princess. Davis said the pageant brought new friendships and connections, and helped teach leadership and responsibility.
A tradition that lasts this long depends on people who keep showing up to organize it. Crystal Shetlar, who has held several festival roles, told WFIU/WTIU that volunteers work days and nights to put the festival together, while others spend the year organizing parts of the event. The station also spoke with Lori Livingston, who has worked at the Chamber ticket booth for three years. She grew up attending the festival and now spends the week welcoming visitors and seeing familiar faces.
WFIU/WTIU also spoke with Dylan Coolazier, who works at a family-operated Sirloin Tips and Potatoes stand that has been part of the festival for more than 35 years. In his seventh year working there, Coolazier described the returning crowds as friendly and said their support helps bring the business back.
The event’s official parade page names Albert and Tonya Chastain as 2026 co-grand marshals. Both have longstanding ties to the festival: Albert served in several leadership roles, including general chairman, and Tonya has volunteered with the festival’s food stand and held leadership positions. Their selection puts longtime community service in view during a celebration shaped by many people’s work.
That volunteer effort connects the people who return each year with those discovering the festival for the first time. Some come to see old friends; others come to share the day with children or grandchildren. Organizers, vendors and volunteers help keep the gathering going. The parade gives the crowd something to watch, but the human story is in the connections around it: families returning, neighbors recognizing one another, and newcomers finding a place in a tradition that has welcomed generations.
This year’s parade took place Sept. 26, closing the festival’s Sept. 19–26 run. By then, another week of conversations, familiar faces and shared memories had joined the festival’s long history. In Mitchell, the tradition continues through the people who come back—and those who bring someone new with them.
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