The 2024 Fall Fest flyer from the Diamondhead Property Owners Association fits on one page. It reads "October 19, 2024. 10:00 - 3:00. The Club at Diamondhead, Main Parking Circle." Under that come handmade arts and crafts, jewelry, local savories, artwork, a DJ, and a line that matters this year: a "Free Shuttle to Fest from City of Diamondhead Parking Lot."
Two years later, Fall Fest has moved to the place the shuttle used to leave from. The City of Diamondhead lists the 2026 festival for Saturday, October 17, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at City Hall, 5000 Diamondhead Circle. That is one week from today, with the same hours as the last two years and a different organizer on a different lawn.
Same Saturday, Same Hours, New Address
The festival has kept its basic shape for several years. It falls on the third Saturday in October, runs about five hours, and puts arts and crafts at the center. The venue is the one thing that has changed.
| Year | Date | Hours | Location | Organizer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Sat., Oct. 21 | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Main parking circle, The Club at Diamondhead | Property Owners Association |
| 2024 | Sat., Oct. 19 | 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Main parking circle, The Club at Diamondhead | Property Owners Association |
| 2025 | Sat., Oct. 18 | 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Parking circle in front of The Club | Property Owners Association |
| 2026 | Sat., Oct. 17 | 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. | City Hall / Town Green, 5000 Diamondhead Circle | City of Diamondhead |
In 2023, the Hancock Chamber's listing for the POA event offered handmade crafts, jewelry, local savories, artwork, a food truck, a DJ, and free shuttle parking. This year's lineup is bigger on paper. RHCJC News reported that the free festival will have about 70 vendors, food trucks in the plural, DJ music, face painting, a petting zoo, and other activities. The POA's materials from earlier years never gave a vendor count, so there's no baseline for that 70. The new items are easier to compare. The petting zoo and face painting point toward families, and in 2023 the listing named a single food truck.
Why the City Is Running It This Year
The reason is simple. City Manager Jon McCraw told RHCJC that the Property Owners Association, which had organized Fall Fest for years, was not planning to hold it this year.
"The city stepped in, decided that we would start our first annual Fall Fest for an event that's been going on for years."
The coverage includes no explanation from the POA, so the reason it stepped back isn't on the record. McCraw gave the background. Before Diamondhead incorporated in 2012, the POA handled many community responsibilities, and since then the city has taken on more of them, particularly governmental functions. He presented the festival as a way to keep a tradition going for residents while giving visitors a chance to see Diamondhead and its local businesses. "It's just to help promote the city as a whole," he said.
He also pointed to the timing, which has always been one of the event's draws. Mid-October falls well ahead of December, and McCraw described the vendor rows as a place to find "that unique present that you didn't think you would ever find." The Mississippi Free Press republished the story with a photo of the booth from K's Sweet Kreations. So far it is the only vendor named publicly for this year.
The City Hall Lawn Has Hosted Craft Fairs Before
A crafts festival is nothing new for the City Hall grounds. The City says the Diamondhead Arts and Crafts Fair has been held there for more than 36 years. It is the main fundraiser for the Diamondhead Youth Athletic Association, and the proceeds pay for football and cheer uniforms, equipment, and game officials. The City's page for that fair doesn't list a current date. Its history still shows that booths, tents, and weekend foot traffic on this lawn predate both the city and the new Fall Fest.
The grounds have room to walk, too. The City lists a City Hall Walking Track at the same 5000 Diamondhead Circle address. Anyone who already walks that track will be crossing festival grounds on the morning of the 17th.
Three Events on Two Lawns in Six Days
Fall Fest is one of three community evenings and afternoons in the coming week. They are split between two lawns, and each lawn has its own host.
- Thursday, October 15, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. National Night Out at City Hall, 5000 Diamondhead Circle.
- Saturday, October 17, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Fall Fest at City Hall and the Town Green, same address.
- Tuesday, October 20, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The POA's Halloween Trunk or Treat on the lawn of The Club at Diamondhead, 7600 Country Club Circle. Residents and businesses decorate cars and golf carts and hand out treats.
That sequence shows how the handoff actually played out. The POA didn't leave October. It stopped running one event, and it is still hosting the costume-and-candy night at The Club. The City now holds two of the week's three gatherings on its own grounds. Families who once took the shuttle from the City lot to The Club for Fall Fest will make two trips in the opposite directions this year: City Hall on Saturday and The Club lawn the following Tuesday.
Golf carts may be the one detail both lawns share. The Trunk or Treat listing names them as vehicles to decorate, which shows how short these trips can be inside the community.
Planning Around Saturday
City Hall's location puts the festival in a different part of town than in past years, and the places nearby have changed this year as well.
The Dog Park. The Diamondhead Dog Park opened April 4. The City places it between Ochsner Health Park and East Hancock Library, and the library sits right beside it. According to WLOX's opening-day report, the park has separate areas for large and small dogs, fire hydrants, water fountains, waste stations, and shaded benches. East Hancock Library's listed address is 4545 Shepherd Square.
Coffee before, ice cream after. Bela's Coffee & Creamery at 4405 E. Aloha Drive, Suite M, is a locally owned shop. It is owner Stephen LeBlanc's first business, and the Chamber held its ribbon cutting July 9. In July, RHCJC reported Saturday hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. If those hours still hold, Bela's is open before Fall Fest starts and well after it ends.
A sit-down meal. The Aloha Drive cluster has several kitchens with current 2026 permits in the Mississippi State Department of Health's food facility listing, including Aroma Italian, Tiki Bay Daiquiris, Five Happiness, and Dunk's Southern Style Buffet. Pelicans Snoballs on Gex Road also holds a 2026 permit. A permit confirms a business is licensed, not what hours it keeps on a given Saturday, so it's best to check before heading over.
What Hasn't Been Announced
A first-year festival comes with some unknowns. As of this week, the City and Chamber listings don't include parking or shuttle instructions. They also have no named food-truck roster and no rain plan. Under the POA, parking had a set answer, which was to leave the car at the City lot and take the shuttle. This year the festival occupies that lot's own grounds, and no replacement plan has been published yet. The City of Diamondhead Fall Fest page on Facebook, linked from the RHCJC story, is the likeliest place for those details to show up.
The Club's calendar stays busy after the Trunk or Treat. The Gobbler Golf Tournament is listed for November 28, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Hancock Chamber's year-end Business After Hours and Christmas party is set for Wednesday, December 9, from 5 to 7 p.m. at The Club, 7600 Country Club Circle.
Small changes like a new venue for a festival everyone knows tend to come up later, when neighbors ask what's going on around town and why. I'm Gina Constantino, and I keep track of those details across the Coast and the Northshore. If you'd like to talk through what changes like this mean for your corner of Diamondhead, let's connect. I'm glad to share what I know, and I hope to see you at Fall Fest on the 17th.
