The Foothills Fall Festival in Maryville doesn't kick off until October and it's already sold out. It brings in 75,000 people to downtown Maryville each year.
The three day event features food, art, and big named acts like Reba McEntyre.
It's a time when downtown businesses say they draw in new customers.
"It allows people to come in and see what our community has to offer," said downtown business owner, Richard Clear.
However, some businesses say strict rules are keeping them from participating in the festival.
"They make it plain to us that they preferred we closed up and went away for the weekend," said Clear.
Clear has set up a booth outside his martial arts and health shop for seven years. This year, the city told him he can't.
"We thought they were elected as officials to help this community instead of strangling it," he said.
He along with seven other businesses feel the city is choosing to support out of town vendors over them.
"We're down here year round paying our taxes and just trying draw people into our community," said Jerred LaRue, also a business owner.
The city said when local businesses sold items on the sidewalks some vendors threatened to never come back.
"With a festival this size to be able to manage it to be able to have it in the first place we have to set some guidelines," said Jane Groff, Maryville Events Coordinator.
Groff said Broadway, where those businesses are located, is an area designated for the "art way." It's for artists and food vendors only who purchase booths for hundreds of dollars.
"When you do a show with juried artists and craftsman, they expect to come into a place where they can compete fairly with what they have," Groff said.
The city said most of the downtown businesses do not take issue with the city's rules. She said they have tried to work with those who are upset.
"Over the last several years we've found that there are certain people who if they can't have everything they're not happy," she said.
Clear and the others have decided to host activities and food inside their shops in hopes of attracting some of the visitors anyway.
"We don't have to have them telling us what to do we can promote downtown Maryville ourselves and have been forced into the position of doing that," said Clear.
Groff said the shops are welcome to sell items inside but not on the streets.
The festival will take place October 7-9.
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