Downtown Niles hosts inaugural Fall Festival

Published 4:12 pm Monday, October 30, 2023

By Max Harden

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NILES — A festive, fall atmosphere debuted in downtown Niles over the weekend.

The inaugural Fall Festival came to life Friday, Saturday and Sunday in downtown Niles.

Festival highlights included a fall artisan market, Halloween ball events, free hayrides, trick or treating, food trucks, a chili crawl and more. The festival also featured a community dance to the tune of Michael Jackson’s hit “Thriller.” Organized by Erin Hamilton-Torres of Expressions Dance Academy, the dance featured more than a dozen participants.

“It was a great turnout,” Hamilton-Torres said. “Everybody was excited to be here. They were excited to practice and were excited to be a part of this new tradition we’re starting in this town that I’ve grown to love so much.”

Erin started her dancing with Miss Kathy’s School of Dance in Dowagiac. She went on to travel across the world pursuing dancing, including South Korea and Japan, and moved to New York where she danced for 12 years before moving to Niles in 2020. 

“I’ve been searching for a community I love as much as Niles for a long time,” she said. “We’re always happy to be a part of anything that anyone asks us. We love it here and we’re so proud of everyone who participated; they did great. Hopefully next year it’ll be a better turnout and we’ll do a bigger one.”

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