Festivities at the annual Fall Festival, which is held at Byler Craft in Whiteville, started at 7 a.m. in the morning for breakfast on Saturday, October 3, 2026, and attendees were ready and eager to eat. It was the beginning of a full day experience that would not end with breakfast, but continue into the afternoon with fellowship, an auction, and lunch that would later be served. As it has done each year, the Fall Festival not only attracts locals, but people from all over West Tennessee, and some from out of state.
This is the 29th year the Fall Festival has been held, which was created to raise funds for the Whiteville Mennonite School. It was an idea Ray Byler had, which has grown over the years in offerings and attendance. The festival has become an enjoyable family event many look forward to attending and the highlight of the Fall Festival is the auction of handmade items of food, woodwork, and quilts.
“The idea of when it started was to raise some funds for the school and we enjoy doing it. It’s always a good experience for the church people, the church group to work together. We we find it very rewarding and we’ve considered quitting, but the community loves it and we hate to quit. So, we’re still going. And we have new young bloods since we started and and yes, they’re all everyone seems excited about it at the time. And uh I’m not sure we’ll keep it going. I guess,” said Byler.
If you love to eat or have a sweet tooth, the Fall Festival was definitely the place to be. There were many freshly baked dessert items and several giveaways of prizes to be won, which even included an e-bike.
Other attractions that made the day memorable were the children’s’ activities and of course, the handmade ice cream.
