Fleming Fall Festival

On the Saturday morning of the Fleming Fall Festival the first things served are coffee and an FFA breakfast, which the Sterling Journal-Advocate called a pancake breakfast. Vendors open their booths along with them. The festival runs over two days in September in Fleming, Colorado. Its Facebook page lists “races, vendors, games, food and fun.” The 2026 edition, held September 18 and 19, was organized by a volunteer committee working with the Town of Fleming. The town’s offices are at 114 N. Logan Avenue, and its motto reads “One Small Part of a Great Nation.”

Friday belongs to the school. In 2026 it began at 4 p.m. with homecoming volleyball games against Weldon Valley. Exhibits were dropped off that evening, and the varsity homecoming football game, also against Weldon Valley, started at 7 p.m. Homecoming royalty were crowned at halftime. The festival’s own posts call the weekend “Homecoming Fall Fest.”

Floats on Main Street

The Saturday parade lines up in front of the school. Children go first in a parade of their own. They walk, ride scooters, or ride bicycles decorated for the day, and in 2026 one boy drove a Spider Man vehicle and a bicycle rider carried a Denver Broncos flag. The main parade followed at 10:15 by the town’s schedule. The Journal-Advocate listed the parade at 10.

A color guard led the 2026 parade down Main Street. Each Fleming School class builds a float to the year’s theme. In 2026 the Class of 2030 used Americana colors and the Class of 2032 honored America’s birthday and several Colorado teams. Another float carried Colorado team jerseys. The Class of 2029 threw candy from its float. Pake Sonnenberg, photographed by the Haxtun-Fleming Herald, dressed for the part on his class float. The Fleming High School Class of 1976 rode with a float remembering classmates who had died.

The rest of the line ran to the town’s institutions. Fleming VFW Post 7153 marked 80 years of service. First National Bank of Fleming decorated a float to the theme. A red, white and blue golf cart advertised Fleming Odyssey. A classic car carried a sign reading “Party in the USA.” Fleming fire trucks and Fire and EMS rigs came through, and the department’s Jeff Brekel handed out pens along the route. The parade honors chosen residents each year. In 2026 the Honored Citizens were Tony and Jeanne Monroe, who waved from their vehicle, and the homecoming king and queen, Treyson Kirkwood and Hadley Stull, rode down Main Street. A four-wheeler came last.

Gold coins in the hay

After the parade the crowd moves to North Park for kids’ games, which began at 10:30 in 2026. Preschool and kindergarten boys ran a foot race, and the girls ran a separate one. Youngsters dug for gold coins in a pool filled with hay. The Fleming Library Association held a silent auction from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. People lined up at the Thirsty Herd for a treat.

The exhibits are entered in four age groups, from 6 and under to 18 and up. The categories are cut flowers, garden produce shown up to three of a kind on a paper plate, photographs and art, home-canned goods, cooking, and crafts. In 2026 the tables held photographs, crops, and 4-H project exhibits.

The Fleming firemen serve pulled pork from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for a freewill donation. The schedule places the lunch at North Park. On the morning of September 19, 2026, the festival announced that it was moving to the fire hall “due to the possibility of rain.”

A pet pageant and a horseshoe pitch

The Journal-Advocate called the pet pageant new in 2026. It was held at noon in the bus lane at Fleming School, and a local breeder, Vandenbark Doodles, donated a gift basket for the winner. The horseshoe tournament started at 1 p.m. The town’s schedule put it at the Heritage Museum Park by Highway 6, and the Journal-Advocate put it at the water tower in the park. A pickleball tournament at North Park followed at 1:30 and raised money for Odyssey of the Mind.

Themes from year to year

Each festival has a theme, and the floats follow it. In 2025 the theme was “Sweet Victory,” and the Class of 2029, then freshmen, covered its float in candy. The 2026 theme was “Red, White, Blue & Colorado Too!” The Herald wrote that it celebrated America’s 250th birthday and Colorado’s 150th.

The program has changed over the years. On September 11, 2021, the town advertised a one-day festival with food, games, bounce houses, football and volleyball games, and a movie at the park. By 2026 the festival had spread across two days, and its committee was asking residents on Facebook what events they would like to add. The festival thanked Jessica Japp for her photographs of the 2026 parade.