Autumn Lights Festival location moved

Slightly more than a week after announcing a new location for an expanded version of the annual Autumn Lights Festival, the location has been changed.

The 28th annual festival now is planned Sept. 27-29 at the site of the former Jungle Habitat, 109 Airport Road.

The location announced earlier was the Wallisch Homestead, 65 Lincoln Ave.

In recent years, the festival has been held on one day along Union Valley Road near Marshall Hill Road, with an estimated 30,000 people attending.

The festival’s website says, “Yes, it’s true - ALF has outgrown its current location and is moving to a new site: Jungle Habitat! This allows us to continue expanding our lineup of activities and entertainment.”

The hours will be 4 to 11 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.

The festival will feature a full carnival with more than 20 machines, carnival games, inflatables, interactive table games, a petting zoo, apple and corn cannons, a dunk tank, face painting, pumpkin painting, toy vendors and carnival foods.

Live performances planned are by Black Dirt Bandits, Mr. Lovejoy and the 3M Band on the main stage and Precision Dance Academy, Shades and Sirens on the acoustic stage.

Parking will be at Jungle Habitat, and there will be a per-vehicle fee to park on state park property.

Vendors will have the option of attending the festival for one day only or all three days. Applications will be available soon. Early-bird pricing ends May 11.

The organizer will be a nonprofit organization, allowing sponsorships and donations to be tax-deductible.

The festival’s website, https://autumnlightsfestival.com, is being updated weekly.

When the festival began in 1994, various organizations and businesses held events at different locations on a joint schedule.

The festival has been held at five different locations during its history.

It was run by volunteers until the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the township has hired a public events vendor to run it.