Column: Disney Magic Meets Autumn Comfort at Hospice Fall Festival
{Photos: Antionette Kerr/Davidson Local}
When the last chapter of life is being written, even a parking lot can become a storybook. This year’s Hospice Fall Festival turned the asphalt into a sea of bright green décor and Little Mermaid–inspired touches, complete with a whimsical “Main Street” of care and candy booths. Volunteers in playful costumes, families, and residents mingled and laughed as kids filled their bags with treats under the crisp Carolina sky.
This was the second year for the Disney-themed fall festival, and “The Great Pumpkin” display was still a big hit for photos and candy collecting. Davidson Local joined in with its playful Jeep-inspired “Duck, Duck News” booth, handing out goodies and sharing stories with families.
Volunteers showed up as Cookie Monsters and the crowd-pleasing “Pumkinrella,” a pumpkin-spun Cinderella, while kids danced to the “Gummy Bear” song inside the building. With under-the-sea backdrops, balloon arches, and kindness floating through the air, it felt like the kind of street party Disney would storyboard but rarely gets this real.
One Hospice resident, a proud grandparent whose name wasn’t caught, had a simple hope: to make a candy run with the grandkids. Staff and volunteers made it happen. Popeye hats on, they rolled from booth to booth while the little ones darted ahead, doubled back, and stuffed their bags. For a few laps around the lot, the titles lined up the way they used to: grandparent, grandkids, candy, laughter. A small circuit, a big memory.
Families were also encouraged to leave small leaves of “legacy notes” at a booth inside. Hospice of Davidson County said the festival created a beautiful opportunity for the community to show love. The event gave residents the dignity of still being a grandparent, still dressing up, still smiling about family legacies. And for children and grands, it was a living memory to hold on to.
In a season of pumpkin spice everything, the Hospice Fall Festival reminded everyone present that the sweetest treats are the time and love we give each other. It’s proof that even in Hospice care, there’s room for costumes, candy, and the kind of magic Disney’s been selling for decades — only here, it’s real, it’s about family and it’s free.
