FORT PAYNE-Fall has arrived and an incredible lineup of events in November make Lookout Mountain in northeast Alabama an inviting time to visit. DeKalb Tourism invites visitors and lifelong residents to make their way outdoors for a breath of fresh air while getting a jump start on Christmas shopping and enjoying some free family fun.
Art and nature come together the first Saturday in November in celebration of the natural wonder of the Little River Canyon. Set for November 6, 2021, Canyon Fest offers live music, nature and arts activities, arts demonstrations and sales, an assortment of food vendors, children’s activities and more. Dozens of artists and exhibitors will be on hand offering demonstrations and selling their handcrafted work. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and all activities are held at the Little River Canyon Center located at 4322 Little River Trail NE (472 Alabama Highway 35) in Fort Payne. For more information on Canyon Fest, call 256-845-3548. There is no admission fee, but donations supporting the Little River Canyon Center will be accepted.
Eddie’s Florist opens the doors to its holiday spectacle the first weekend in November. Christmas at Eddie’s is an over the top, one-of-a-kind Christmas experience that has become a tradition for thousands of visitors over the past three decades. From November 6 until Christmas, the florist shop is transformed into a winter wonderland, where approximately 200 fully decorated Christmas trees are on display. No two trees are alike, each one sporting a different theme.
All ornaments are available to purchase, and with no two trees alike, shoppers are inspired to create their own unique tree at home. Along with unique ornaments, ribbons, bows and other items for decorating trees as well as nativity scenes and Christmas home décor are available to purchase.
Open house hours for Christmas at Eddie’s are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on November 6 and 1 to 4 p.m. on November 7. Following the open house kick off, hours are Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Thanksgiving Day hours are 1 to 4 p.m. Eddie’s Florist is located at 9112 Alabama Hwy 40 (close to the intersection of Highway 40 and Highway 75) in Henagar, Ala. For more information, call 256-657-3841.
Adding a twist to a typical art fair, the Creative Spirit Market is an open air showcase featuring artist demonstrations, locally and regionally-created fine and folk art, hand-crafted goods and live acoustic music. Shoppers can browse and watch artists in their creative process, listen to music and purchase one-of-a-kind gifts from painters, potters, quilters, weavers and basket makers, fabric spinners, culinary artists and craftsmen.
Creative Spirit Market is set for November 13-14, 2021, in DeSoto State Park’s country store/picnic area on County Road 89 in Fort Payne. Festival hours are 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. both days and event is held rain or shine. Admission is free. There is a $2 fee per vehicle for parking in the picnic area. Festival goers are asked to wear a mask and to use hand sanitizer prior to touching artwork. Additional sanitizer stations will be made available throughout the park. For more information, call 256.997.5025. Hosted by Little River Arts Council and DeSoto State Park, the event is made possible in part by the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Surrounded by the majestic Appalachian Mountains, Collinsville is home to a popular festival that dates back to 1912. Set for November 13, 2021, the Collinsville Historic Turkey Trot is a family-friendly event featuring an antique car show, music, arts and crafts, food vendors and a carnival. There will also be a silent auction featuring prizes from local vendors and artists and chances for a cash giveaway. What makes this event unique is the turkey toss from the roof of a building in downtown Collinsville. At the end of the day’s festivities, crowds gather on Main Street for the historic turkey toss where, in keeping with more modern sentiments, beanie-baby turkeys are launched from the roof of a downtown business.
Turkey Trot began in 1912 as a promotional scheme for the Oliver Hall Company, a large general store located in Collinsville. The highly advertised event brought people from the surrounding area to Collinsville where turkeys, guineas and chickens were released from a scaffold built on top of the Hall’s store. The waiting crowd scrambled to catch a bird that would end up on their Thanksgiving dinner table. The Birmingham News reported as many as 10,000 crowded the streets for the exciting day that included bargains in all businesses as well as the Oliver Hall Company. Today, turkeys are still released from the roof of a building to a waiting crowd but the turkeys tossed are toy turkeys that the lucky person can trade in for a frozen bird. In addition to attracting visitors to Collinsville for a day of fun, the event has become a major fundraising activity for the restoration of the Cricket Theatre.
Sponsored in part by the Collinsville Historical Association, the Collinsville Historic Turkey Trot gets underway at 10 a.m. and admission is free. All activities are held in and around historic downtown Collinsville. For more information about the Collinsville Historical Association visit https://
Media Release/Karen Beasley/Lookout Mountain
