Benny Westcott
Good weather and family fun were in abundance at this year’s Harvest Festival, held Saturday, Oct. 2, at Sankey Park, 877 14th Ave.
Patrons listened to music, ate, drank, shopped at some 80 vendor booths and did much more during the city’s annual fall event.
“We had great turnout, and the weather was beautiful. It was a gorgeous day,” City Communications Specialist Lagea Mull said. “People were excited to be there.”
The chili cook-off and pie bake-off events raised $2,000 to help local youth Rialee Roth fight Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Peter Mynar’s chili won first place in both the judges and people’s choice categories. Logan Brown finished second overall. Hannah McCluskey’s pecan pie collected amateur youth (17 and under) honors in the pie bake-off, while Larry Patton’s apple pie won the amateur adult division, and Taylor Ferguson won in the professional group for hers.
Chafin Farm Carriages offered patrons horse-drawn wagon rides around a course through town. The Sweet Home Public Library’s Kid Zone featured such activities as bubble-blowing and face-painting. Gemma, the police department’s drug sniffing dog, made a guest appearance with her handler, Officer Brian Prather.
“We learned that Gemma is not a huge fan of goats,” Mull said with a laugh. “Several people brought goats on a leash, and we had to keep them away from the working dog.”
She added that “all five city department heads were there and working hard” to set up and organize the event.
“I was really pleased with how smoothly everything went,” Community and Economic Development Director Blair Larsen added. “Everyone seemed to have a great time, vendors seemed to be happy and city staff seemed pleased.”
“I kept waiting for a problem to happen, but we really didn’t have any problems,” he joked, adding that many of the event’s vendors sold out of their wares.
Larsen suggested that cornhole tournaments or other interactive activities for adults would make good future additions. A cornhole tournament took place in 2020, but the city’s partner in that event had to back out this year.
“We are always open to public comments and suggestions,” he added. “We just want to continue to grow this event and continue to make it something that the community loves.”