Fun Fest Receives Multiple Honors at 2026 Northeast Tennessee Pinnacle Awards

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Friday, May 22, 2026

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Fun Fest Receives Multiple Honors at 2026 Northeast Tennessee Pinnacle Awards

KINGSPORT, Tenn. – Fun Fest obtained high honors in three award classes on the 29^th Annual Pinnacle Awards. The Northeast Tennessee Tourism Association honored the tourism trade’s high professionals on Thursday, May 21 on the Johnson City Country Club. The day honored the highest performers who contribute to vacationer associated neighborhood and financial improvement from Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.

Nominations are reviewed by a panel of unbiased judges, and exemplary initiatives are chosen as Pinnacle Awards winners. The winners are introduced at an awards luncheon through the summer season every year. This 12 months, 113 candidates entered 30 totally different classes.

Fun Fest obtained the highest award for Best Festival or Event. Since 1981, Fun Fest has been a staple competition in Kingsport and all through the area. For 9 days in July, the neighborhood celebrates the Kingsport spirit with greater than 100 occasions (24 of them had been fully new in 2025) in 30+ places across the metropolis. From day one, the objective of Fun Fest has been “Community Unity,” and it continues to foster the assumption that Kingsport is an efficient place to work and stay by offering occasions that spotlight leisure, athletics, arts and historical past, amongst others. We attempt to make Fun Fest a competition that turns into a convention for households throughout generations and affords reasonably priced methods to make reminiscences that final a lifetime. In 2025, Fun Fest welcomed greater than 100,000 guests from 32 states. Throughout its 9 days, Fun Fest hosts a parade, street races, sporting occasions, senior occasions, kids’s occasions, scorching air balloons, fireworks, live shows, meals vehicles, pet occasions, block events, guided hikes and SO. MUCH. MORE. Fun Fest is made doable every year by greater than 150 company and neighborhood sponsors who put their monetary assist, time and vitality into making every occasion a hit.

The Trash Barrel Paint-In occasion was acknowledged as Sustainability Leader because of its partnership with Keep Kingsport Beautiful. Each 12 months 1000’s of individuals, adults and kids, meet on the grounds of Allandale Mansion to design and paint the trash barrels which might be used at Fun Fest and different occasions all year long. This occasion encourages youngsters of all ages to deal with maintaining their neighborhood clear and chorus from littering. It additionally promotes creativity and uniqueness by means of designing and adorning the barrels. In 2025, greater than 600 trash barrels had been painted, setting thee report for many barrels ever. Throughout the nine-days of Fun Fest, greater than 14 tons of rubbish had been collected.

Longtime Fun Fest champion, Bonnie Booher, was honored posthumously with the Volunteer of the Year award. Bonnie demonstrated ardour, dedication and dedication to her neighborhood by means of her numerous hours spent volunteering within the Fun Fest Merchandise Store. This previous 12 months we celebrated Miss Bonnie’s 96^th Birthday as we opened the shop to have a good time the competition’s 45^th Anniversary. She served with us proudly all summer season lengthy – nonetheless with us each week greeting consumers and answering questions on parking, ticket costs, shirt colours and a lot extra. Sadly, after a quick sickness, Miss Bonnie just lately handed away. Bonnie carried her spirit of giving and love for others into all the things she did, and we all know that spirit will proceed for a few years due to her affect. In addition to her time with Fun Fest, Bonnie additionally actively gave her time on the native hospital, coordinating volunteers for the reward store and welcome desk. In latest years she additionally spent most afternoons volunteering at Girls Incorporated in Kingsport, cooking meals for lots of of women to have every day after faculty throughout their programming.

“We are blessed to live in a community and region that continues to support a festival of this size,” mentioned Emily Thompson, Visit Kingsport’s Director of Fun Fest and Special Events. “We are honored to see Fun Fest, the Trash Barrel Paint-In and our dear Bonnie Booher recognized as they all truly reflect Kingsport’s community spirit.”

The awards had been judged primarily based on the outline of the occasion, funds and revenue/loss assertion, estimated variety of attendees, if it was environmental and/or pet pleasant and neighborhood evaluations/suggestions. Factors of affect included attendance progress, pioneering advertising and marketing and superior promotional efforts.

About Northeast Tennessee Tourism Association

The Northeast Tennessee Tourism Association was named the state’s 2019 Destination Marketing Organization of the Year with a mission is to function a catalyst to reinforce regional financial and neighborhood progress by means of the promotion and improvement of tourism. The group was chartered in 1977, is a non-profit tourism promotion and company that serves and helps Carter, Greene, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington counties in Tennessee.