Carthage, MO 57th Annual

October 2023

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Applications

Calendar of Events

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Parade

The 2022 Maple Leaf Festival Parade will take place on October 15th, beginning at 9 a.m.!! Old traditions are new again. The parade is going to go back around the Square!! The parade will start on corner of 4th and Main, Go Main down to 3rd, 3rd to Grant. It will then follow Grant down to Grand, Grand to Centennial and over to River. We encourage visitors, both local and traveling, to line the parade route and join in the spirit of Maple Leaf as festive floats travel down the 1.7 mile route.

Festival History

Beginning in 1966 as a marching band competition, the annual Maple Leaf Festival took its name from Mother Nature’s array of glorious fall colors. Every year, the city of Carthage proudly welcomes 80,000+ visitors to this wonderful fall celebration.

Every year, on the 3rd Saturday of October, the biggest day of the festival begins with the largest parade in Southwest Missouri. This keystone event begins at 9 a.m. and ends around noon. The parade begins on the Historic Square and ends at the Carthage Jr. High.

Events are scheduled throughout the day including the band festival, art & crafts vendors, car and tractor shows, wine tasting, quilt show, food vendors, and live entertainment.

The month of October is filled with activities including art and museum exhibits, lobster boil, bike tour, carnival, evening 5K, beauty pageants, dog show, chicken pageant, gospel sing, cruise-in, costume ball, and a lip-sync competition. Celebrating its 53rd year in 2019, the Maple Leaf Festival welcomes you.