This Small-Town Harvest Festival In Minnesota Belongs On Your Autumn Bucket List
By Trent Jonas|Published August 31, 2023
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Trent Jonas
Author
Trent Jonas came to Minnesota to attend college - and never left. He's a Twin Cities-based writer with a BA in English and a MFA in creative writing, a Minnesota Master Naturalist, and the proud father of two adult children. With more than a decade of freelance writing experience under his belt, Trent is often out exploring his favorite topics: Minnesota's woods, lakes, and trails. Rhubarb pie is his weakness, so discovering new diners is also a passion.
The charming community of Stillwater, Minnesota has much to offer. In fact, we think it’s one of the best small-town getaways in the country. With as much as there is going on in Stillwater at any given time, it’s probably not much of a surprise that it’s home to my favorite small-town harvest festival in Minnesota. As far as these kinds of festivals go, they don’t get more unique, or perhaps wacky, than Stillwater’s.
As the trees of the St. Croix River valley begin to take on the golden mantles of autumn, folks in Stillwater turn their minds to… pumpkins.
Local growers baby them and ensure that they keep growing for as long as possible so, come October, they can load them up and haul them into downtown Stillwater.
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There, they’ll be arrayed along the riverfront for Stillwater’s annual Harvest Fest.
Cockpits will be carved out, pilots will be recruited, and they’ll be launched on their maiden (and, usually, final) voyages at the annual Pumpkin Regatta.
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Racers will paddle their pumpkins across the autumn-chilled waters of the St. Croix, trying simultaneously to make it to the finish line and not sink.
A crane hauls a giant gourd 100 feet into the air, and when the time comes, lets go. The exploding pumpkin splatters the front row of onlookers and thrills the crowd.
Check out the giant pumpkin drop in this YouTube video from Pictures Over Stillwater:
Yes, Stillwater’s Harvest Fest is a little pumpkin-centric, but it’s a heck of a lot of fun – I’d say it’s one of my favorite Minnesota festivals of the year. If you plan to go and hope to stay in town, be sure to book your room well in advance – it’s a pretty popular event.
Have you been to Harvest Fest? Tell us about it in the comments, and be sure to let us know about your favorite fall festival in Minnesota.
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