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(Des Moines, IA) -- The Beaverdale Fall Festival is getting underway in Des Moines today. It's been around for nearly 40 years, and board member Josh Steuterman says it's completely volunteer-organized.
"All of us have day jobs," Steuterman says. "Towards the last three months or last four months, many of us spend 20 to 30 hours a week pulling this whole show together."
The two-day festival kicks off today with a car show.
"There will probably be, we hope, over 200 cars that show up," Steuterman says. "So that's a big draw."
The weekend also includes a parade tomorrow morning, which Steuterman organizes. He says the parade celebrates more than just Beaverdale.
"I would say about half of the groups are natives of Beaverdale," Steuterman says. "And then there's kind of that concentric circle around the Beaverdale area in the Des Moines metro that participates and then all the local high schools will have bands as well."
The festival is implanted in the neighborhood at no cost too visitors.
"We have always believed that if we put on a great festival, people will show up," Steuterman says. "The product that they're getting is just the great atmosphere that is inherent in downtown Beaverdale. It's completely spread by word of mouth, and we feel like it should be accessible to everybody. We don't rely on charging admission."
The car show opens the festival at 5 p.m.