Auburn Autumn Days has gone by the wayside.

“We had Auburn Autumn Days for at least 25 years. I can remember when we had 109 vendors set up about 10 years ago,” said Auburn City Clerk Becka Cox, who is also a tourism volunteer. “So many festivals were added that they were doing at the same time that they pulled from our crowd. We tried to research for a weekend that nothing was going on.”

The result of the research is the first Dog Days of Summer Festival, which is Friday and Saturday on Auburn’s downtown square.

“We had to revise it and come up with something new. We hope it’s a huge event that people will attend,” Cox said. “We hope it will be successful enough to have a 25-year run like Auburn Autumn Days did, even bigger. At the peak of (Auburn Autumn Days) we had 2,000 to 2,500 people come through. We would love to have that many people at Dog Days.”

This weekend is the perfect time to have a festival, said Sarah Moore, assistant city clerk and tourism chairwoman.

“We pulled up a couple of festivals online to see what was listed. It seemed to be a weekend that wasn’t super busy,” she said. “It’s not a holiday weekend where people would be out of town and not a weekend where we’d have large festivals to contend with.”

The festival kicks off with live bands and a street dance Friday featuring BandZaZZy from 6 to 8 p.m. and Big Nancy from 8 to 11 p.m. on Main Street in front of Auburn City Hall. Lawn chairs are encouraged. Crafts and concessions will be from 6 to 11 p.m. on the square. Inflatables will be from 5 to 8 p.m. downtown. Armbands may be purchased for $5 in advance at city hall or $7 at the gate and are good for two-day admission with unlimited use.

On Saturday, there is a pancake breakfast from 7 to 10 a.m. at the American Legion at 394 E. Main St. Crafts and concessions are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m on the square. A silent auction is from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Auburn City Hall council chambers. Inflatables will be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Main Street. A dog show is at 9 a.m. at the big pavilion at Auburn City Park. A hot dog eating contest is at 10 a.m. on Main Street in front of U.S. Bank. Live music features the Bilbreys from 10 to 11 a.m., BandZaZZy from 11 a.m. to noon, Leaving Auburn from noon to 1 p.m. and the Overholts from 1 to 2 p.m. on the front lawn of Teel House. A line dance demonstration by Kickin’ Country Line Dance Team will be from 2 to 3 p.m. on the front lawn of Teel House. Live music by Family Tradition will be from 3 to 4 p.m. on the front lawn of Teel House.

“It’ll be worth coming back just to see what else has been added,” Moore said.

Auburn’s festivals have never had vendors on Friday nights before, Cox said. There are 28 vendors this year.

“We hope the two-day set up is helpful for the vendors as well as the attendants of the festival,” she said.

The festival is designed to attract people to Auburn, Moore said.

“Proceeds will go toward beautification and tourism events,” she said. “We want to promote a sense of community and draw people to our area.”

Volunteers are needed for tourism to make the festival grow, Cox said.

“It takes a lot of hands to make something like this,” she said.

— Follow features reporter Alyssa Harvey on Twitter @bgdnfeatures or visit bgdailynews.com.