Denison Fall Fest scheduled a week before Gainesville’s Depot Day

Downtown Denison’s 39th annual Fall Festival is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026, according to Denison’s official calendar. The date puts Fall Fest one week ahead of Gainesville’s free Depot Day Festival, which the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce schedules for Oct. 10 in historic downtown Gainesville.

The Gainesville chamber lists hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for Depot Day, also marking its 39th year.

Encouraging visitors to stay overnight was part of the Denison Area Chamber of Commerce’s advertising proposal for last year’s Fall Fest, according to Convention and Visitors Bureau Advisory Board minutes. The August 2025 record describes plans to spend tourism-grant money on advertising reaching potential visitors as far away as Austin and Oklahoma City, with hotel stays as the stated purpose.

The minutes also record a clarification about the chamber’s proposed expenses: the amount entered on its application covered advertising alone. Anticipated costs for the entire festival were higher. Both estimates concerned the previous festival:

| Expense category in 2025 planning records | Estimate |

| --- | ---: |

| Advertising | $5,000 |

| Entire festival | About $24,000 |

The downtown streets where the festival takes place have been part of a reconstruction effort spanning several years. Denison’s project account dates the Phase 1 streetscape ribbon cutting to Aug. 7, 2023.

The city reports that construction on Phase 2 began May 6, 2024. That phase encompasses the 300 and 400 blocks of Main Street, including the intersection at Fannin. Its scope also includes Heritage Park and the alleys on either side of Main Street, according to the city.

Denison’s amended fiscal 2026 budget assigns funding to that second construction phase through the General Bond Fund. The budget distinguishes money already spent from an estimate and the amended allocation:

| Phase 2 downtown construction | Amount |

| --- | ---: |

| Fiscal 2024 actual spending | $1,578,327 |

| Fiscal 2025 estimated spending | $9,149,577 |

| Fiscal 2026 amended allocation | $2,175,078 |

The Texas Historical Commission’s account places Denison’s admission to the Texas Main Street Program in 1989, following the loss of hundreds of railroad jobs late in the preceding decade.

In its April 2025 report, the commission put accumulated investment in Denison’s Main Street district above $80 million, with private investors contributing more than seven-tenths of the total.

The commission’s year-end review reported that the statewide Main Street program included roughly 80 communities after Borger and Killeen joined in 2025.