One of Evansville's most civic-minded groups is a unique organization known as the West Side Nut Club. It's humble beginnings were in 1921 when a small group of businessmen and merchants on the west side of Evansville, who frequently lunched together, decided that an organization was needed to push the interests of their side of town.

Officers were elected, a specific time and place of meeting were agreed upon, and a set of aims and principles were adopted. The present generation is unsure of the derivation of the distinctive appellation: Nut Club. Did the founders really think of themselves as a group of "nuts?" Oh, perish the thought, their descendants say. They really considered themselves the acorns from which the future "mighty oaks" would grow.

In any event, the Nut Club grew and prospered. Its list of achievements and projects accomplished lengthens each year. Every October the Nut Club organizes and sponsors a mammoth Fall Festival. This is a week-long gala on the west side along Franklin Street with free entertainment, carnival attractions, over 126 food booths, amateur talent competitions and on the last day, a huge parade. This event attracts over 200,000 people to the West Side & is considered to be one of the largest street festivals in the United States