The rain held off for the Festival Queen crowning at the 40th annual Ada Harvest and Herb Festival on September 19. Ten high school seniors were selected to be part of the 2026 royalty court, with past festival queens also attending in recognition of the event anniversary.
Kenley Poling was crowned as the new festival queen by 2025 queen Harvest and Herb Queen Emma Lambdin.
Organizers, vendors and shoppers came prepared for an uneven weather day at the 2026 Harvest & Herb Festival in downtown Ada. In online updates and her last assignment as Ada Area Chamber of Commerce director, Lindsay Hollar suggested coming early to the 40th installment of the Ada fall festival.
While Mother Nature cooperated, crowds thronged Ada's Main Street to shop, eat, listen to live music and enjoy the company of friends and family.
Charmaine M. Spradlin, age 74, of Ada, passed away on Saturday, September 19, 2026 surrounded by family.
She was born to the late Eugene and Rita (Cote) Shannon on July 15, 1952, in Fort Belvoir, VA. On May 18, 1975, Charmaine married Richard Spradlin, who preceded her in death on April 24, 2008. Also preceding her in death is her daughter, Rebecca Spradlin.
OLD FORT__The visiting Ada High School boys soccer team got back on track by defeating Old Fort 3-1 in a non-league match on Saturday morning, Sept. 19.
The Bulldogs improved to 5-5 and snapped a four-match losing skid with the convincing road win. Old Fort dropped to 0-8 with the loss.
“Saturday’s game was a step in the right direction for us,” said Ada head coach Aaron Acheson. “We were more physical, competed harder, and did a much better job of winning 50/50 balls. We played with a lot more fighting spirit than we have in some of our other games, and that was encouraging to see.“
