West Plains, Mo. – The city of West Plains is joining other local communities in celebrating fall with the Autumn Harvest Fest this Saturday, October 22 at the Heart of the Ozarks Fairgrounds. This festival will be full of fun events for children and adults, celebrating many fall activities such as pumpkin carving and making scarecrows.
Charlotte Cochran with the Autumn Harvest Fest explains many of the events that will be held:
There will be over 60 vendors with their creations on display and available to purchase. Admission to the festival is free but festival organizers are asking for donations of canned goods to be donated to the Bridges Program. Many competitions will be held as well. Those are a pumpkin competition, a scarecrow competition, a car show, and a tractor show.
The Pumpkin Competitions
The Pumpkin Competition will be divided into two age categories: an adult pumpkin carving contest and a kid’s painted pumpkin contest.
The adult contest will have a first place prize of $20 and a trophy and a $10 prize for second place. The contest is limited to 8 contestants and will be held at 11 a.m. The pumpkins and carving utensils will be provided.
The kid’s contest will be broken into 3 age categories for ages 5 and under, ages 6 to 10, and ages 11 to 15. Painted pumpkins should be brought to the main canopy between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday. Judging will begin at 2 p.m. A first place prize of $10 will be available for each of the kid’s age groups.
The Scarecrow Competition
There will be a scarecrow contest that participants and vendors will be able to participate in. The best scarecrow will receive a $25 prize.
The Car Show
The Car Show will have an entry fee of 2 canned goods per vehicle entered. There will be trophies given in six categories: Festival Choice, Best Rust, Loudest, Best Wheels, Coolest Paint, and Best Engine Bay.
The Tractor Show
The Tractor Show will have three trophies for Festival Choice, Oldest, and Best Rust.
For additional information about the Autumn Harvest Fest, competition information, or any other questions, call Charlotte Cochran at 417-274-6229 or visit their Facebook Page.
