Parker Harvest Fest slated for Sept 18-19

Courtesy of Judy Kinder Linn County News

The Parker Harvest Fest will once again kick off the fall festivals for the county, as the community welcome visitors to the event during the weekend of Sept. 18-19.

This year’s theme is “Once Upon a Time” and will primarily focus on storybook titles and nursery rhymes.

Crystal Riggs, who is chairperson for the event, said the idea is to concentrate on the kids.

“Our festival has always been geared toward the kids and we just thought that this year’s theme should express that theory as well. We’re hoping that more kids might even come up with some great ideas and get involved with putting together floats for our main parade.”

The day will begin with the children’s parade at 10:30 a.m., followed by the main parade at 11 a.m.

A few changes have been made to the venue this year.

“We know how hard it has been for many, with the economy the way it’s been going, so this year we are waiving the booth fees. By doing so, we hope this will invite more vendors to set up for the event. I would also advise those wanting to set up, to make sure they get here as early as possible to secure their spot,”the chairperson explained.

Riggs reflected on the day’s activities, “We, of course will have many of the old time favorites such as the baby contest, children’s games, horseshoe pitching contest, bingo and the luncheon sponsored by the Parker United Methodist Church, as well as the second annual hot dog-eating contest that was a real hit last year.”

Riggs continues by saying that the committee has also added some other fun events that should offer something for everyone.

Some of those noted additions include a craft contest, a cakewalk and a riding lawn mower race.

She laughs and adds, “We’re even having a wet T-shirt contest, but it’s not what you think. It will be good clean fun for all ages. Just make sure that if you do sign up to participate, you bring a towel and be prepared to get a little “chilled out”.

Riggs adds that there will also be 50/50 drawings throughout the day.

The Harvest Fest will also be sponsoring the second annual Chili-Cook-Off. Riggs explains the process. “We will be having three categories this year: Original, Unique and Hot & Spicy. Contestants are asked to bring at least one standard size crock-pot full of their chili for the judging competition. Winners will be selected from each category with an overall winner for the contest. All chili dishes submitted will then be served at the community picnic.”

Following the picnic will be a Storybook Fashion Show that invites all ages to participate, showing off their favorite (and original) storybook costume.

Riggs goes on to say that the evening events will continue with the Harvest Fest Royalty presentation, the grand prize drawing and the merchants drawing.

“The day’s event will end with a street dance on Main Street, from 9 p.m. to midnight. We are very happy to announce that the Harvest Fest will be welcoming back the Silver Bullet Band from Osawatomie. This a great band that plays some of today’s new country hits as well as old time rock and roll favorites. We’re very excited to have them back on our stage once more,” Riggs continued.

The Sunday schedule will continue the fun. “Sunday’s event will begin with a trap shoot (practice time begins at 10 a.m. with the competition at 1 pm) across from Parker One-Stop. Our annual fishing tournament has also been re-scheduled and will begin at 1 p.m. at Parker Lake. We’re hoping that these scheduled times will invite more patrons to participate,” Riggs explained.

The Gospel Sing-Along will conclude this year’s festival. The First Baptist Church of Parker is this year’s host for the closing event.

“The Baptist Church will host this year’s inspirational music event and we encourage everyone to join us at the main tent on Main as we wrap up another year of a community fun-filled weekend.” She said.

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Posted by admin on Sep 8 2010. Filed under News and Updates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry