Kuttawa harvest festival

Such a weekend of contrasting weather! The Kuttawa Harvest Festival, billed as the celebration at the end of summer, lived up to its billing as vendors huddled underneath blankets to stay warm in the wind that whipped from Lake Barkley. While the sun was beautiful, with another fabulous Friday evening sunset, the breezes promised that autumn was not far behind.
The Lyon County High School band entertained for the opening ceremonies previewing its competition. Cheers and applause were offered by parents, friends, and appreciative festival patrons. Later, square dancers, mostly from the Evansville, Ind. area displayed their talents and then ventured into the crowd to invite others to learn the routines.
The sand castle competition was started early with designs ranging from dolphins to castles with and without moats. Teams had obviously plotted their architecture, in advance, as they arrived with shovels, pails, and jars. Some team members were in charge of pailing sand, and others were in charge of retrieving water.
Although Saturday morning brought bright sunshine, the wind still was breezy. Runners kicked off the Saturday festivities, and expert marksmen with their washers and horseshoes began lively rounds that lasted most of the morning. Having to switch sides often to keep bright sunshine from the competitors’ line of vision, it was also revealed that the southern end of the competition field was the least popular, as the washers had to be dug out of the hole, that contained several inches of water. “Yeah, now I see why you left it in there,” said one competitor. “You want me to be the one who digs all the muck off it.” (Perhaps that was the strategy. Muddy fingers might bother one’s aim?)
The kayaking brought a number of competitors who didn’t seem to mind the wind. With flags set strategically at several different points in the lake, they needed to plot their strategy before leaving the shore to decide which route would return them to shore safely with all flags in their possession.
There was “Bark in the Park”, always a favorite event at festivals, as pampered pets of all ages and breeds happily visited with their doggy friends who they had not seen since the last dog show.Good natured dogs with wagging tails, nearly all of them were much more interested in visiting and playing, than they were performing in the talent section of the show, and the wind played havoc with their costumes, but everyone seemed to be having fun.
Vendors with hot food and coffee proved to be the most popular, particularly the senior youth from Eddyville First United Methodist Church, who had a steady stream of business, as soon as they announced they had hot biscuits and gravy for a dollar. Free pumpkin painting was offered, along with several pumpkin and gourd stands, along with various crafts and displays from area civic organizations.
There was a rock climbing wall near the small pavilion, which was the setting for the apple pie contest, along with the cupcake contest. Apple pies with lattice tops and cinnamon topping were as decorative, as they were tasty, and the cupcake contest proved a challenge to judge, as cupcakes took the form of pumpkins, witches, and even a plate of four hamburgers with side orders of fries.
As always. the midday parade was a hit. Led by Grand Marshal Harold Henderson, followed by the American Legion (of which he is a long-standing member) float and myriad other entries ranging from Shelby Murphy on her dirt bike to Promis and Mark Brietrick throwing their newly popular freezer pops from the Promiseland Tree Service truck, there was certainly something for everyone, right down to the decorated golf carts.
By Sunday morning, only remnants of the sand castles remained. The harbor was empty.The vendors were gone; the trashcans had been emptied, and the hot coffee was only a memory. Even the bright sunshine quickly dimmed behind the cloud cover, as the wind whipped, once again across the lake. The harvest moon, which had appeared at the Kuttawa Harvest Festival, had brought with it – the end of summer.