Saturday's festival grows to 400 vendor booths with a new layout, stronger security and free shuttles as the newly rebranded countywide chamber heads into its biggest day of the year.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas. More than 400 vendor booths will fill the streets around the downtown square on Saturday, Oct. 3, as Fair on the Square celebrates its 52nd year with the largest vendor lineup in the festival's history.
Jonathan Murphy, membership director for the Walker County Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber staff has been focused on little else. "We're all geared focused towards Fair on the Square right now," Murphy said. "That's the only thing that we think about, dream about, eat about, sleep about. It's Fair on the Square."
The festival runs from 9 AM to 5 PM around the courthouse square in downtown Huntsville. What began 52 years ago as a gathering of about 25 to 30 vendors, mostly artists wanting to showcase Huntsville's art scene, has grown into one of the region's signature fall events, drawing shoppers from across East Texas for a full day of art, handmade goods, food and live entertainment.
A Bigger Footprint and a New Layout for 2026
This year's fair adds roughly 40 to 50 booths to the footprint, growing from the usual 350 to 360 vendor spaces to 400. Murphy said the expansion required a full rethink of the event map.
"We actually sat down and redid the whole layout, the schematics of it," Murphy said.
The children's train that has long been part of the fair was relocated to open up room, and food vendors were moved into the square itself to ease the congestion that has sometimes choked the food court area. Murphy said the goal was to spread foot traffic more evenly so no single area gets overwhelmed.
The bigger crowd also brings a bigger safety plan. Murphy said the chamber worked with the Huntsville Police Department to increase the law enforcement presence at this year's event, with additional officers roaming through the grounds. Fire and EMS staging was adjusted as part of the same planning.
The chamber also reworked vendor placement with downtown merchants in mind. Businesses along the square will stay open during the festival, and Murphy said booth assignments were adjusted so shoppers can still reach storefronts easily. Some downtown businesses buy booths in front of their own stores to join the festival directly.
An Economic Engine for the Square
Murphy estimates the fair pushes more than a quarter million dollars in purchases into the local economy in a single day.
"We are infusing over a quarter million dollars of purchases into our community through this day," Murphy said.
Hotels fill up, restaurants see a surge and the ripple effects reach well beyond the square. Some vendors rely on Fair on the Square as their one show of the year, Murphy said, and a strong day can carry a small business for months. A few vendors have been part of the fair since its earliest days and still set up in the same spaces they claimed decades ago.
The festival also serves as a quiet tribute this year to one of its founders. Norman Suggs, a longtime Huntsville artist and a deacon at First Baptist Church Huntsville, was on the initial committee that helped start Fair on the Square. Suggs, who recently passed away, spent years painting portraits of people around town. Murphy said honoring Suggs' role in launching the fair felt right as the event marks 52 years.
Getting There and Getting Around
Parking downtown will be tight, so the chamber is encouraging visitors to park for free at Bowers Stadium and ride a free shuttle to the square. Several local churches plan to run buses to the festival, and senior living centers are organizing group trips for residents.
For drivers who want to park closer to the action, the youth group at First Baptist Church Huntsville will sell parking spots near the square, with proceeds supporting the church's summer youth camp.
Murphy's advice for the day is simple. Wear comfortable shoes, bring water and stay hydrated, and follow the traffic directions from officers working the event.
Volunteers are still needed, and Murphy said the chamber welcomes help with setup, booths and teardown. Anyone interested can sign up through the chamber's website at walkercountychamber.com. Sam Houston State University students can earn service hours for volunteering.
A Chamber With a New Name and a Wider Map
The fair arrives in the first year of the chamber's new identity. In July, after 91 years as the Huntsville Walker County Chamber of Commerce, the organization rebranded as the Walker County Chamber of Commerce to reflect its role as a regional chamber serving Huntsville, New Waverly, Riverside and the rest of the county.
"For 91 years we've been the Huntsville Walker County Chamber of Commerce, and going into this year we decided to rebrand and kind of reflect the whole entire county because we are a regional chamber," Murphy said. "We're now the Walker County Chamber of Commerce."
Murphy said the rebrand came with new internal systems designed to make the chamber a one-stop shop for member businesses, from ribbon cuttings and grand openings to promotion and advocacy.
The chamber's next big gathering after the fair is its monthly breakfast on Oct. 8, where 50 to 60 business owners and community leaders network and deliver short elevator pitches about their businesses.
For Murphy, the membership director role comes down to one thing. "At the chamber, it has to be just meeting those new people and getting them connected," he said. He said some member businesses trace their biggest growth to connections made at a chamber breakfast, including companies that have been chamber members since 1936.
Murphy works alongside president and CEO Jason Brandolini, events director Emma Okrul and member relations lead Missy Hayden.
In other news from the chamber visit, Murphy shared that the unfinished stone pillars off Avenue O, long nicknamed Huntsville's Stonehenge, are being dismantled. The pillars date to a planned apartment project that began in 2018 and was never completed.
About the Walker County Chamber of Commerce
The Walker County Chamber of Commerce serves businesses across Huntsville, New Waverly, Riverside and Walker County with networking, promotion and advocacy. Learn more about membership, the monthly breakfast and Fair on the Square volunteer opportunities at walkercountychamber.com.
For more direct information about the Fair on the Square, including parking information, vendors, and much more, visit https://www.faironthesquare.com.