Beaverdale Fall Festival

03/29/2026

Food & Commercial Vendor Applications are NOW OPEN for the 2026 Beaverdale Fall Festival, September 18-19!

*We are looking for food vendors in the following categories:
🍕 Pizza
🍝 Italian
🍔 Burgers/American
🔥 BBQ
⚠️ All other food categories are FULL.

Spots are filling quickly—apply now to be part of the fun!
https://www.fallfestival.org/become-a-vendor

📸Julianne Gregory Photography

02/10/2026

We’re looking for more neighbors to help plan the Beaverdale Fall Festival!
If you enjoy event planning, community engagement, or simply want to get more involved in Beaverdale, we’d love to hear from you.
www.fallfestival.org/help-plan-the-festival

Meet one of the people behind the scenes 👇

Name: Laurie Haeder
Board Role: Grounds & Stage Entertainment
Joined: 2024

What I enjoy about being on the board: Seeing it all come together with a small and mighty team

What I love about Beaverdale: Everything! The small town feel and great neighbors. Walkability to all Beaverdale businesses, and the ability to easily access bike trails.

What I do for a living: By day (and some nights/weekends!), I am a full-time event coordinator for an association.

Hobbies: When I'm not planning and working events, I love outdoor concerts, biking, my dog, and vacation!

02/05/2026

We’re looking for more neighbors to help plan the Beaverdale Fall Festival!
If you enjoy event planning, community engagement, or simply want to get more involved in Beaverdale, we’d love to hear from you.
www.fallfestival.org/help-plan-the-festival

Meet one of the people behind the scenes 👇

Name: Josh Steuterman
Board Role: Parade Co-Director
Joined: Approximately 10 years ago

What I enjoy about being on the board: Serving in roles like Barricade Guy, Executive Member, and Parade Co-Director has given me the chance to meet an entirely new group of neighbors. I’m incredibly grateful for the connections and community that come from working together to make each festival happen.

What I love about Beaverdale: Our family of 4 has lived in Beaverdale for 20+ years. My earliest memories of living on 44th include the sound of the Beaverdale Fall Festival carnival, just barely audible on a fall Friday and Saturday night.

Hobbies: In our free time, my wife, Allison and I enjoy Des Moines Youth Hockey with our son, going to see our daughter at KU for football games, playing with our 3 (huge) dogs, and I have been known to dabble in politics.

Consider this a personal invitation to join us in our year-round crusade — every festival is different, and every adventure depends on neighbors coming together to make it happen.

02/05/2026

We’re actively looking for new board members to help plan the Beaverdale Fall Festival.

If you enjoy event planning, community engagement, or want to get more involved in Beaverdale, we’d love to hear from you.

👉 Learn more: www.fallfestival.org/help-plan-the-festival

02/03/2026

We’re looking for more neighbors to help plan the Beaverdale Fall Festival!
If you enjoy event planning, community engagement, or simply want to get more involved in Beaverdale, we’d love to hear from you.
www.fallfestival.org/help-plan-the-festival

Meet one of the people behind the scenes 👇

Name: Shelby Schaefer
Board Role: Treasurer
Joined: 2024

What I enjoy about being on the board: Being on the Beaverdale Fall Festival board is a great way to connect with fellow Beaverdale neighbors and local business owners. I enjoy meeting with businesses to understand their goals and helping create partnerships that support both the festival and our community. It’s rewarding to play a role in bringing people together and strengthening the neighborhood.

What I love about Beaverdale: What I love most about Beaverdale is how friendly and supportive everyone is—neighbors are always willing to help, whether that means lending a tool for my many projects or watering my plants while I’m out of town.

What I do for a living: I work in marketing operations at Casey’s Store Support Center.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shelbyschaefer

Hobbies: In my free time, I love restoring and improving my 100-year-old Beaverdale brick home—there’s always a project, and I’ve really enjoyed learning new skills along the way. I also have a 120lb Bernedoodle, Gilmore, who I enjoy taking for walks and exploring the neighborhood.

I’d be happy to meet with any prospective board members to answer questions and share more about what joining the board involves.

01/29/2026

We’re looking for more neighbors to help plan the Beaverdale Fall Festival!
If you enjoy event planning, community engagement, or simply want to get more involved in Beaverdale, we’d love to hear from you.
www.fallfestival.org/help-plan-the-festival

Meet one of the people behind the scenes 👇

Name: Nick Aceto
Board Role: President
Joined: 2021

What I enjoy about being on the board: Seeing the joy, fun, and reconnection people experience at the festival makes all the work worth it. It’s incredibly fulfilling to help create something that brings neighbors together and leaves a real, positive impact on the community.

What I love about Beaverdale: It’s the kind of place where you know your neighbors and they know you back. People look out for one another, celebrate together, and do the small, everyday things that make a neighborhood feel like home. That shared sense of care is what makes people want to show up and invest in the community - something that is important to me and why I moved here!

What I do for a living: Software Project Delivery & Strategic Program Management at Source Allies, Inc.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nkringle/

Hobbies: Cooking, baking, gardening, and spending time with friends!

Fun fact: I live on “Candy Cane Lane” and love helping keep the Christmas light tradition going strong for the Des Moines Community.

01/27/2026

From this ➡️ to this.

The Beaverdale Fall Festival doesn’t just happen — it’s planned, built, debated, and brought to life by a small group of volunteers who love this community.

Join our Festival Planning Board and be part of:
• Creative planning
• Community connection
• Turning ideas into real moments

Interested?
👉 Learn more & get involved (link in bio)
https://www.fallfestival.org/help-plan-the-festival

10/13/2025

The Holidays are coming up and we couldn't think of a better gift for your Beaverdale neighbors! Get your Fall Festival merch before our online store closes soon.

10/01/2025

Do you love Beaverdale and want to make a difference?
We’d love to work with you. Now's the time to join the Festival Board and help make it happen in 2026! https://www.fallfestival.org/help-plan-the-festival

09/27/2025

09/26/2025

🧡Appreciation post!🧡

It’s wild to think it's already been one week since the 2025 Beaverdale Fall Festival! While everyone was enjoying the music, parades, food, and fun — this amazing group (plus few others) was working behind the scenes to make it all happen.

Our board of directors put in so many hours — from late-night planning sessions to last-minute problem solving and endless emails. Their hard work, creativity, and dedication are the reason this festival keeps growing.

To our board, THANK YOU for bringing the magic to life and for pouring your hearts into this community tradition.

Now… time to get back to work — only 51 weeks until the next festival! 😉🎉