Hamilton’s Favorite Fall Tradition Returns Oct. 28

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Karen Beasley, Director of Marketing & Communications

Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association

PHONE: 256.350.3500 / 800.648.5381

EMAIL: karen@northalabama.org

 

Hamilton’s Favorite Fall Tradition Returns Oct. 28  

Decatur, Ala. (August 24, 2023) – Everyone is invited to join the Hamilton Area Chamber of Commerce for some free family fun in downtown Hamilton the last Saturday in October. The Buttahatchee River Fall Festival is a family-friendly event offering a day of arts and crafts, music, classic cars, kids’ area and more. The seventeenth annual festival is set for Oct. 28, 2023, and hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

As festivalgoers arrive for a day of activities, they will be greeted by hundreds of vintage beauties lining the streets of downtown Hamilton for the car show. Children’s activities and live music will keep the crowd entertained throughout the day and shoppers can shop for special sales by local merchants and treasures among the arts and crafts vendors who will be selling a variety of items such as handmade traditional folk pottery, gourd art, bird houses, iron works, glass and handmade jewelry. The motorcycle benefit ride takes to the streets at 10 a.m. (weather permitting). Registration for the ride is $20 per bike and will be from 8:30 to 10 a.m.

Hosted by the Hamilton Area Chamber of Commerce, the festival is held in Hamilton, in and around the Court Square of the Marion County Courthouse and throughout the downtown area. 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th avenues southwest and 1st and 2nd streets southwest will be closed for traffic. Admission is free. The Buttahatchee River Fall Fest is named after the Buttahatchee River, which zigzags its way through Hamilton and connects with the Tombigbee River in Mississippi.

For more information, visit www.brff.org or call 205.921.7786 or 205.952.9884.

About Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association (AMLA)

AMLA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion and development of the $4.3 billion North Alabama travel industry within the 16 northernmost counties of the state. It is supported by 500-plus members consisting of chambers of commerce, Convention & Visitors Bureaus, attractions, campgrounds, festivals, communities, golf courses, restaurants, accommodations and vendors. Counties included within the AMLA region are Blount, Cherokee, Colbert, Cullman, DeKalb, Etowah, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Morgan and Winston. Additional information on North Alabama destinations, accommodations and special events is available by calling 800.648.5381, by visiting www.NorthAlabama.org and by following us on social media @VisitNorthAL.

 

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2025 Karen Beasley Headshot
Author
Karen Beasley

After unexpectantly losing her husband of 29 years, Karen returned to the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association (AMLA) in 2023 as the vice president of marketing and communications where she helps guide the organization’s marketing and communications activities to position the North Alabama region as a must-experience destination for leisure travel. She has over 30 years of marketing experience, most recently working as a behind-the-scenes freelance public relations consultant for AMLA and other tourism organizations and festivals in north Alabama and Tennessee. From 1999 to 2004, AMLA employed her as the organization’s marketing representative, introducing her to a lifelong career in the tourism and travel industry. Following the birth of her second child, she transitioned to part-time freelance employment so that she could focus on family life.

 

She was named the Alabama Restaurant & Hospitality Association Tourism Promoter of the Year in 2025. She serves on the board of directors for the Huntsville/Madison County Hospitality Association, is a member of the Decatur/Morgan County Hospitality Association and the Tennessee Valley Chapter of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) and volunteers with the Woody Williams Foundation and Vets Like Us.

 

She holds a B.S. degree in marketing and a MBA from the University of North Alabama and received her TMP – Travel Marketing Professional – certification from the Southeast Tourism Society Marketing College. She and her late husband, Michael, have two children, Keller and Logan.