Neosho’s Fall Festival brought artists, vendors and families to the historic downtown on Saturday, Oct. 3. The City of Neosho describes it as an annual arts-and-crafts-centered event, presented with support from the Neosho Arts Council and Newton County Historical Society. The 2026 festival was scheduled from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. around the historic courthouse square. NewsTalk KZRG’s same-day report described a crowd of thousands and featured conversations with three makers about the work they brought to the festival.
Pottery as a creative reset
Kelsey, whose booth was identified as Kelsey’s Pottery, told KZRG that pottery gives her a creative outlet and a chance to reset. She is a mother of two young boys and described the hobby as time away in her downtime. She had taken a few pottery classes in college before setting up a small studio at home. At the festival, she brought her work out of that studio to share it with visitors. Her account gives a simple view of how a hobby can fit into the everyday: a little time for making, then a chance to show the results to other people.
A ring designed for the workday
Ben Melton’s jewelry also grew from an everyday need. He works full time as a mechanic and told KZRG he had trouble finding rings that suited him and his work. The biker rings he had worn were too big and gaudy to fit inside engines, so he began making his own. Oak Ridge Designs Jewelry started about four years ago with wood rings. When those did not hold up to the demands of his work, he experimented with metal and began selling them.
Melton now makes rings from wood, stone and fabric, including memorial rings made entirely from fabric. One design, the War Eagle, reflects where he grew up in Arkansas: it incorporates river rocks from beneath the War Eagle Bridge and part of the area’s water wheel. He told KZRG he makes rings from “pretty much literally anything.” At a craft fair, those details give visitors a way to hear how the pieces began and what they are made from, straight from the person who designed them.
Finding the right piece
Pam Lackey told KZRG that she began wood burning out of boredom about 10 years ago. She has sold her work at booths and craft fairs for about five years. Lackey creates designs by hand with a pyro pen rather than a laser and also accepts personalized orders. She said one of her favorite parts of selling is seeing a customer find a piece they had been looking for and smile. That small moment is the kind of connection a maker can see in person: someone spots a design that feels right, and the person who made it gets to hear why.
Different crafts, shared space
The three makers came to their crafts by different routes: Kelsey through a hobby she uses to reset, Melton by solving a practical problem, and Lackey through a pastime she discovered when bored. KZRG’s interviews put those individual stories alongside the festival’s broader mix of arts, crafts, food and family activities. The City’s schedule listed a sidewalk chalk art contest, History Alley at the Newton County Historical Park and Museum, a car show, bounce houses, and music and dance performances. It also listed food and refreshments among the day’s offerings.
The city says the festival is held every first Saturday in October and is organized with help from local arts and history groups. Its event page said the 2026 edition would add entertainment, family activities and vendor opportunities after more than 17,000 visitors attended in 2025. That figure belongs to last year; the city page gives no final count for this year. KZRG described thousands at the 2026 event but did not provide a precise count or a counting method.
For Kelsey, Melton and Lackey, the festival offered a public place to share work shaped by ordinary life: a hobby, a tool that did not fit, a stretch of boredom. Their stories gave visitors more than a list of booths. They could hear how a potter, mechanic-turned-jewelry-maker and wood burner arrived at the work on display, and what each enjoys about sharing it.
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