On Sunday, Oct. 4, the Crete Chamber of Commerce hosted the 12th annual Crete Great Pumpkin Festival downtown, bringing residents together for family friendly activities such as petting zoos and games, food trucks, dancing, shopping and more. The festival had more than 50 vendor tables and 12 food trucks; local vendors and businesses had the opportunity to showcase their products.
Junior Kya Caddy has attended previous Crete festivals and shared that she enjoys seeing the event change each year.
“I look forward to this. I like farmers markets, and getting to watch the shows and inflatables; I like that it’s upgraded and tweaked each year,” Caddy said.
For Caddy, it’s a nice way to connect with people outside of Doane: “It’s a nice change of pace; I get to see people I never see at school…when you come to Crete and not just Doane, you see people you wouldn’t see,” Caddy said.
The festival brought political candidate Shay Smith, 1991 Doane Alum, business maker and runner for state legislature, who had a booth to engage with residents. “I’m here to get out and keep talking to neighbors and friends; I’ve been knocking on doors everywhere from Denton to Kansas,” Smith said. “But it’s really important to me just to be back home and to spend time with all of the folks here.”
Owners of Making it to Sell, a local business that makes 3D printed key chains, crochet, laser-cut projects and jewelry, shared that the business started six to eight years ago. This is the fourth year at the pumpkin festival. “It’s nice to see so many people come together.”
Stephanie Asher, who works at Crete Area Medical Center as a Coder and also owns Asher Apothecary, also participated in the festival. She started her business in January 2025 and was attending the festival for the second time. Asher Apothecary produces soy candles and soy-blend wax melts. Asher said her interest in making fragrance products was influenced by her oldest child’s asthma and the challenges of using department-store fragrances.
“It’s fun doing smaller town festivals. It’s nice seeing everyone coming together and having a good time,” Asher said.
The festival also gives established businesses and newer home-based businesses a chance to reach customers. Jack Cochnar, executive director of the Crete Chamber of Commerce, said the event helps businesses gain visibility and connect with the community. “For in-home businesses, it helps them get their product out,” Cochnar said.
Cochnar said the chamber begins planning the festival well in advance; putting it all together can take around eight months.
The chamber also hopes to expand the event in the future. Cochnar said organizers would like to bring back more Saturday activities to make the festival a weekend-long event.
Residents were able to celebrate the fall season by being in community, enjoying activities and seeing vendors
