DANVILLE — Some people shop for Christmas gifts all year. Others hold off until one of the most popular outdoor events in the area, the Vermilion River Fall Festival, which opened Friday in Ellsworth Park.

Three large tents filled to capacity with booths of crafters ring the festival area. Food vendors, a stage and displays and information booths complete the circle. The center area is reserved for children’s activities that include pony rides, inflatable toys and other amusements. The latter began at 5 p.m. Friday, once children were off school, and will continue through the weekend.

Live music, mud volleyball, an antique car show and a beer garden along with educational displays will round out the weekend offerings.

But Friday’s visitors had one thing on their minds shopping. Some arrived even before the official 10 a.m. opening, while vendors were still setting up their booths.

Summer-like temperatures didn’t dissuade them from buying fall and winter holiday décor. Pumpkins and snowmen dominated the displays; orange and brown colors and strings of Christmas lights were everywhere.

“I come here every year,” Paula Covey of Chrisman said. “I always buy something.”

This year was no exception. Covey arrived at the park at 9 a.m. and looked at all the merchandise. By 10 a.m., she’d purchased a tall, standing scarecrow from Dorothy Gritton and daughter Heather’s booth.

Dorothy is originally from Danville, and said she’s sold at this festival for years.

“We have a business called The Garden Shed in Decatur,” she said. “We sell at antique malls there and in Springfield, but this is one of our favorite events.”

What keeps the duo coming back is the atmosphere at the Vermilion River Fall Festival.

“Cindy (Parson, city recreation manager who organizes the event) is so helpful,” Heather said. “This festival concentrates on families, and we really enjoy that.”

Bev Hookett of B & B Crafts from Sidell has had a booth at this fall festival for 12 years. She and her husband set up at about six shows a year, and she, too, considers this one a favorite.

“There’s a lot of people who come here,” she said. “Business is good. I like seeing the same vendors and many of the same customers year after year.”

Items in her booth ranged from $6 for a bunch of bittersweet to $45 for a corner fence decorated with a winter garland.

“Snow sells,” she observed, “even in July.”

The festivals popularity makes it a good place for organizations to spread the word about what they offer to the community.

The Kickapoo Karvers displayed some of their woodcarvings, while member Joe Resh carved star-shaped wooden Christmas ornaments.

Buzz Ritchie of Catlin, another member, said, “We like to get out, promote our club and generate interest in what we do.”

The group’s 27th annual show takes place Oct. 19 and 20 at New Life Banquet Center in Holiday Square.

Crosspoint Human Services employees and board members were at Ellsworth Park asking people to sign petitions protesting budget cuts that threaten human service organizations like theirs. Members of the AIDS Task Force had a table of their own, distributing information about the disease and answering questions about HIV/AIDS.

People gathered at the food concessions for an early lunch or a snack. Linda Hutzell and her daughter Dawn Parks decided it wasn’t too early for some curly fries.

“We look forward to coming here,” Hutzell said. “We’ve been coming since it started.”

“Every year, there’s something new,” Parks said. “We’re always surprised by how reasonable the prices are.”

“We buy a few things, go home and think about what we didn’t get,” Hutzell said. “Usually, we wind up coming back another time.”

IF YOU GO

The City of Danville Parks and Recreation Department presents the Vermilion River Fall Festival from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. today and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at Ellsworth Park. Admission is free.