Russell Springs' highly anticipated fall festival gets underway at 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 29 and concludes on Saturday, Oct. 30 with two packed days of food, fun, family and friends, according to fall festival director Aron Houdini, the president of the Russell Springs Downtown Revitalization Committee.

The festival opens at 5 p.m. that Friday with inflatables for the kids, DJ music and the Mystery Machine from the Scooby-Doo cartoon. Then at 6 p.m. the Zumba/hip hop dance takes place on the main stage while comedian Bill Byrge, who portrayed "Bobby" in the Ernest movies, will be at city hall from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

At 7 p.m., the award-winning Russell Springs Haunted House opens its doors and at that same time the local talent showcase known as Teen Night will take place on Main St.

A full day of events is planned for Saturday, Oct. 30, beginning at 8 a.m. with a big barbecue cookoff sponsored by Premier Drug Testing. At 10 a.m. a car show will take place in the parking lot of the Russell Springs United Methodist Church. A spark plug changing contest starring the Mystery Machine and the Dukes of Hazzard's General Lee and Rosco's police car will also take place then.

Also at 10 a.m. the kid's hillbilly olympics begin on Main St. with events such as the 50-yard and 100-yard dash, sack race, egg balance race, pumpkin seed spitting contest, shoe tying contest and the strong kid contest.

At noon the adult hillbilly olympics begin with such events as the pumpkin putt, seed spitting contest, the corn shelling contest, the 3-legged race, women packing contest, a 100-yard dash and the strong person contest.

Also at noon the kids pumpkin painting contest the needle in a hay stack events open.

At 1 p.m. the stage contests begin featuring the hillbilly costume contest, the father-son look alike contest, the whistling contest, the mother-daughter look alike contest, the cow calling contests, the man calling contest and the women calling contest.

Then at 3 p.m. Bill Byrge as "Bobby" from the Ernest Movies will be available for autographs and photos until 8 p.m. at city hall with the barbecue cookoff judging, Halloween costume registration, Hip Hop and Zumba on the main stage with DJ and Karaoke on Main St.

The at 5:30 p.m. the  costume contest winners will be announced  on the main stage with the ever popular Trunk or Treat event beginning at 6 p.m.

To cap off the event a free showing of "Night of the Living Dead" will be shown at the Star Theater, the haunted house opens and the Blair Carmen  Piano Pumping Sensation, all beginning at 7 p.m.

Still to be announced, Aron Houdini will be performing a dangerous escape on Main St. for a taping of a national television show for the Discovery Channel, TLC or Spike TV.?

The festival's gold sponsors are Premier Integrity Solutions, Monticello Banking Company, First National Bank, Duo County Telecom, WHVE 92.7 the Wave, the Russell Register, Wilson's Funeral Home, Ace Hardware.

The festival's VIP sponsors are the Times Journal and Russell County News and Laker Country 104.9 WJRS.