Harvesting Fun

RONAN — Though you may have been fooled by the 90-degree temperatures last weekend, it is almost October. Leaves are changing color and falling to the ground and those aforementioned temperatures are plummeting, sure signs that fall is here. Another sign that fall has arrived: Ronan’s Harvest Fest.

For the third year, the Ronan Area Chamber of Commerce sponsored Harvest Fest, giving the community an opportunity to come out and enjoy some of the benefits this time of year has to offer.

“The purpose of Harvest Fest is to make a fun fall event for the City of Ronan and its surrounding communities,” said Brennin Grainey, president of the Ronan Area Chamber of Commerce.

If the purpose was fun, Harvest Fest was a smashing success. The event, which has grown in popularity each year since it started in 2009, had a myriad of events for children and adults to enjoy. Situated between scarecrows and hay bales decorated as spiders and turkeys, children had the opportunity to bowl pumpkins and race zucchinis, get their faces painted, go on a tractor ride and enjoy fare from several vendors while many of the parents watched with smiles, often taking pictures.

Families also had the opportunity to peruse shopping booths lining the Visitor’s Center parking lot, as well as participate in a number of contests including zucchini decorating and egg tossing. For the first time, Harvest Fest also held a contest for people to guess the weight of an enormous pumpkin. Needing a forklift to move the giant squash, the pumpkin weighed in at an astounding 480 pounds. They could also purchase samples to help judge the chili-cooking competition.

“People enjoy the variety,” Grainey said. “You can bring the whole family. Kids games are a hit and kids have a lot to do. There are good crafts, as well as the competitions.”

With Harvest Fest now in the rearview mirror, keep your eyes peeled. Maybe you’ll find a quarter-ton Jack-O-Lantern while enjoying the crisp autumn air.