Evansville, IN — Not only is the West Side Nut Club Fall Festival the best fall festival in the country for the third straight year—the numbers prove it’s one of the premier community festivals in America, no matter the season.
Through the use of cell phone data and work by Digital Upgrade, the West Side Nut Club was able to estimate visitor attendance and engagement from Monday through Saturday of the 2025 Fall Festival. This marks the third consecutive year the organization has tracked and compared attendance data through data allowing for a deeper understanding of the festival’s reach and impact.
Through the use of Placer.ai cell phone data and work by Digital Upgrade, the West Side Nut Club was able to estimate visitor attendance and engagement from Monday through Saturday of the 2025 Fall Festival. This marks the third consecutive year the organization has tracked and compared attendance data through Placer.ai, allowing for a deeper understanding of the festival’s reach and impact.
This year’s festival welcomed over 280,000 visitors, comparable to 2024 numbers—an impressive figure given the weather challenges early in the week. Wednesday alone set a new record, with more than 47,000 visitors enjoying the festival.
On average, attendees spent just under two hours per visit, an increase from last year. Data also showed that 35% of visitors spent time in the rides area, underscoring the continued popularity of that portion of the event.
The West Side Nut Club compiled additional data from food booths, rides, streets, half pot sales, and parking, resulting in a comprehensive economic impact report. The findings revealed a total economic impact of $8.3 million across six days. Yes, read that again… $8.3 million dollars in our community across the first full week of October.
That total includes $3.8 million in food booth sales—all benefiting the non-profit organizations that operate them.
“The Fall Festival having an economic impact of $8.3 million dollars is a phenomenal stat,” said Brandon McClish, WSNC Board Member. “Obviously the nation’s largest half pot helps with that, but having $3.8 million that goes directly to our non-profit organizations through their booths is something to showcase. The half pot will continue to grow with new advancements thanks to the WSNC team behind it, but we’ll always highlight our non-profit food booths as the heart of the festival. The same year we broke our record with a $2.6 million half pot, 28 organizations also broke their own records with booth sales.”
Digital and Social Reach
The Fall Festival’s impact wasn’t limited to Franklin Street. The official festival website received over 210,000 new visitors during the first full week of October, with an impressive 44% engagement rate.
Social media activity was equally strong, powered by the enthusiasm of the West Side Nut Club community. Across the Club’s social media platforms, content generated more than 5.6 million views, 64,000 interactions, and over 8,000 comments, with a 25% click-through rate.
By the Numbers:
280,000+ total visitors (Monday–Saturday)
47,000 visitors on Wednesday — a single-day record
2 hours average visit duration (up from 2024)
35% of attendees visited the rides area
$8.3 million total economic impact
$3.8 million in food booth sales benefiting local non-profits
5.6 million total social media views
210,000+ new website visitors
For additional details or to access the full economic impact report, please visit https://nutclub.org/fall-festival-2025-impact or follow the West Side Nut Club on social media.
