Fall Fun Happening at Fall-A-Palooza

By Misty Cryer

The 16th Annual Fall-A-Palooza takes place on October 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Beach Bandshell Area. It is a community celebration of faith, family, and fall fun, featuring activities and games. The event is hosted by eight churches; some are new this year, with one returning to assist in bringing this lively event to the community.

“Fall-A-Palooza is free; it’s family fun for everybody,” said Brooke De Leon of Legacy Church, which is participating for the first time. She said there will be inflatables, bounce houses, and games, and they will be giving out candy.

“There will be food vendors; of course, with food vendors you pay their price, but the fun and games are all free,” De Leon said.

The event is primarily geared toward children and families, where the churches can share scripture, pray with people, and let them know what churches are in the area, she said. By gathering all eight churches in one spot, people can talk to each person representing the church, she said. “I think it’s really exciting; it’s a really good thing.”

Legacy Church, which has a main campus in Albuquerque, has been in Carlsbad for a couple of years and has moved a couple of times, De Leon said. Currently located in the Hillcrest Baptist sanctuary, she said, they have classrooms for their children’s ministry, the sanctuary for parents, and they offer men’s and women’s Bible studies on Mondays. “It’s not just for Legacy Church members; we do have people who go to other churches attend.”

Junior Catholic Daughters, ages six to 18, from both San Jose Catholic Church and Saint Edwards Catholic Church are participating in Fall-A-Palooza for the first time, said Crystal Montoya, State Regent for New Mexico of Catholic Daughters of the Americas. She said that Saint Edwards has been involved long-term, “I think since the beginning.”

The motto of the Junior Catholic Daughters is “be useful,” said Montoya. “I think it is a great opportunity for the girls to live that out and to also be exposed to helping with other churches. I think it is really wonderful for the girls, and even for the adults,” she said.

Fall-A-Palooza represents all the churches coming together to provide something positive for the community, said Montoya, “especially because it is faith-based. I think that is also a great opportunity for them to participate.”

The girls are setting up a photo booth backdrop for everyone who attends the event. “I know that the girls are very creative and they have wonderful moms that help as well, and I think probably the most exciting thing for me is just getting to be involved with the other churches to show the girls that it is much bigger than just our small established group, and to see firsthand what can happen when all of our faith communities come together and provide such a fun day for families,” said Montoya.

Church Street Church of the Nazarene participated in Fall-A-Palooza before, and they are coming back this year. Although she wasn’t on the committee in the past, Nicole Young said she volunteered for many years at the beginning.

“We love Fall-A-Palooza. We think it is an incredible event that brings together churches in our community to just love on people,” she said.

Comparing the event to what it was before, Young said, “It’s much bigger. We’ve moved from the First Methodist property to the beach. There is a lot more offered and a lot more room, so it’s just really grown over the years.”

Engaging with people in the community and having the opportunity to meet people and love on people is what Young finds exciting. She said she loves that several churches from the city come together. “We are all unified in it. It’s not a ‘my church vs. your church’ event; it is all of the churches working together for one purpose,” she said.

In regard to Fall-A-Palooza, Young said, “It is a really beautiful picture of what you need to do in a community.”

The churches participating in Fall-A-Palooza this year, according to Jeni Dugan, are First Baptist Church, First Methodist Church, Legacy Church, Sunset Church of Christ, Church of God of Prophecy, Grace Episcopal, Saint Edwards Catholic Church, and Church Street Church of the Nazarene.