Preparations for the Burlington Harvest Festival are afoot.

City staff have collected scores of surplus zucchini from community members and teams from near and far have been perfecting giant pumpkin-slinging machines for the free event this Saturday.

The fifth annual Burlington Harvest Festival and Pumpkin Pitch is expected to attract thousands of people to town, said Christi Kinney, Burlington recreation coordinator and organizer of the Pumpkin Pitch.

She said about 150 to 200 people came to the first festival in 2003, but last year the crowd was estimated at 4,000 to 6,000 people.

This weekend’s activities start with a Boy Scout pancake breakfast at the Burlington Chamber of Commerce Saturday morning. After that, Skagit River Park in Burlington will be filled with food, music and fun from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

On Sunday, a fine art and gift show and art and craft supply rummage sale will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

While in town, festival-goers will encounter the Great Scarecrow contest in the form of personified hay dressed up outside downtown Burlington businesses.

Common Ground on Pease Road and the Burlington Fire Department will also host off-site festival events.

Burlington planning director Margaret Fleek has gathered hundreds of spare zucchinis for her favorite part of the festival, the zucchini races.

She begins gathering the elongated gourds weeks before the event and then helps children make them into race cars the day of the festival.

It is a popular event among the younger set, she said.

“You not only get to build and race your own zucchini race car, but you get to take it home,” she said. “And you get a prize.”

Last year, children ransacked the supply of about 150 zucchinis.

“We had nothing left but dust,” Fleek said.

Food vendors and live music will help keep the party going all day long.

Professional pumpkin carver Russ Leno will delight onlookers at the Frazier Farms booth at the park, where people will be invited to buy raffle tickets to take home one of his creations.

Winners of a giant pumpkin weigh-in will be displayed as well.

But it is the devices that toss the pumpkins hundreds of feet, called trebuchets, that are the real crowd-pleasers, Fleek said.

“The Pumpkin Pitch is really exciting every year,” she said. “Chucking those pumpkins hundreds of yards, it’s fun for everybody.”

Teams work for months assembling giant machines that catapult the gourds across the park. Members of the public can observe the machines and ask the teams questions about them, then enter their choice for the People’s Choice Award, a new feature to this year’s festival.

TreBarbaric, a team out of Sedro-Woolley, has taken first place the past three years. Last year it won with a throw of 1,382.9 feet.

Kinney said a lot of people come specifically to watch the pumpkins get pitched. “There’s some hard-core fans of these kinds of competitions.”


2007 Burlington Harvest Festival & Pumpkin Pitch Schedule

Saturday, Sept. 29

Boy Scout Pancake Breakfast

8 to 11 a.m., Burlington Chamber of Commerce, 600 E. Victoria Ave.
Provided by Boy Scout Troop #4078 and sponsored by Simes Honda and Brandon Atkinson, DMD.

Horse-drawn Wagon Rides

10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Skagit River Park
Wagons West will provide rides up and down the park from the north and south ends.

Fine Art and Gift Show

10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Burlington Community Center, 1011 Greenleaf Ave.
Artists from Skagit Valley Art Guild Offer fine art, photographs, jewelry and other hand-made gifts. Door prizes and music, refreshments provided by Burlington Senior Center.

Arts and Crafts Supply Rummage Sale

10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Burlington Community Center, 1011 Greenleaf Ave.
Shop for good quality and gently used arts and crafts supplies. Lots to choose from, great bargains and more.

Professional Pumpkin Carver

11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Skagit River Park
Russ Leno.

Burlington Parks and Recreation Fifth Annual Pumpkin Pitch

Skagit River Park

11 a.m., Public Viewing – Enter the “Pit” and meet the teams. Ask questions, take photos and get up close to the massive hurling machines. Vote for a team to win the “People’s Choice Award.”
Noon, Flag Ceremony – Presented by B-EHS ROTC with soloist Rita Vanderpool.
12:15 p.m., Competition Begins – Watch trebuchets of all shapes and sizes hurl pumpkins great distances for awards and prizes. Each team will have five official tosses to win bragging rights and cash prizes. Awards ceremony will immediately follow the final toss. Winners will be announced for the Captain’s Award, People’s Choice, Machine Engineering, Team Sportsmanship, Rookie of the Year and first through third place finishers for distance.

Free Family Events at the Park

11 a.m. until the Pumpkin Pitch is over, Skagit River Park
Children’s activities, Giant Pumpkin Weigh-In, zucchini car races and food vendors.

Kiwanis Club of Burlington Harvest Festival Barn Dance

6 p.m. Doors open, 8 p.m. Music starts, Burlington Fire Department, 350 Sharon Ave.
The evening’s festivities will include a silent auction, barbecue and wine and beer no-host bar. Musical entertainment provided by Becki Sue & Her Big Rockin’ Daddies with special guest Fat James Lite. Must be 21 to attend. Tickets are $25 and are available at the chamber office or Stowes.

Sunday, Sept. 30

Fine Art and Gift Show

10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Burlington Community Center, 1011 Greenleaf Ave.
Artists from Skagit Valley Art Guild Offer fine art, photographs, jewelry and other hand-made gifts. Door prizes and music, refreshments provided by Burlington Senior Center.

Arts and Crafts Supply Rummage Sale

10 a.m. to 4p.m., Burlington Community Center, 1011 Greenleaf Ave.
Shop for good quality and gently used arts and crafts supplies. Lots to choose from, great bargains and more.