Upcoming Event- Allardt Pumpkin Fest- Oct. 2-3-4

Everything You Need to Know about TTA’s Weekend at the Allardt Pumpkin Festival

Friday, Oct 02
-Fount and Anna Bertram are leading a Adventure Trip during the day to the Alvin York historical site in Pall Mall and also to Cordell Hull’s birthplace. Please contact the Bertrams if you are interested in going. 615-765-5357
-I (Anne Wesley) will be staying in either Cabin #2 or #3 at Pickett State Park.
-Camping at Pickett State Park (Directions at end of sheet). There are no advance reservations for sites. However, Fount and Anna Bertram will stake a claim to one of the sites, and everyone is welcome to pitch their tents and share the cost. There’s no way to know in advance which site they will get, but we usually try to get one near the entrance to the campground. We’ll try to mark it with our TTA banner to make it visible. If you are bringing a camper, you will probably need to get your own site. I think they have rules about how many campers can fit on one site.
-There are hot showers at the campground, but it’s not luxurious.
-Friday evening we’ll have a communal, pot luck, weenie roast for dinner (assuming the weather remains good). There are not many stores close to the park, so please have all your food stuff with you. Jamestown is about the last reliable town for groceries. You may want to bring a cooler with ice.

Saturday, Oct 02
-You can join us in Allardt anytime you want. I anticipate being there about 9:00 am (ALLARDT IS ON CENTRAL TIME!) to buy pumpkins. The official Weigh-off starts at 10:00 am with the smallest entries. How long it lasts depends on how many pumpkins/squash/watermelons are entered.
-There is plenty of parking in a field by the fire station.
-All during the day, there are “crafts” of varying quality. There’s a car/tractor/motorcycle show. There are plenty of baked goods to buy as well as greasy carnival food. For a complete list of events and times, go to www.allardtpumpkinfestival.com .
-At noon, we will meet in front of the Allardt Elementary School to decorate our float (Nissan Truck) for the parade. I will bring hay bales, and we can use the pumpkins I buy. I will hopefully have my backpacking tent to set up in the truck bed (elevated on the hay bales), to give our float a hiking look to it. If you have scarecrows, fall garlands, anything “autumn” that can be duct taped to a truck, please bring it.
-The parade is at 2:00 pm. We will line up around 1:30. We are #8 – (ahead of the horses and their road apples).
-Please wear something “hiker-esque” – preferably with TTA logos if you have it. Wearing your backpack looks good too. If you want to go that extra mile, feel free to wear something “Pumpkin.” For example, this year I bought 2 pumpkin wigs. Do not bring your hiking stick to the parade. The route is only about ½ mile, and you’ll need your hands free to throw candy. This is not a Halloween parade. Please leave your Zombie costume at home (or at least wait to scare tent campers with it at Pickett).

-Throwing candy: The crowd can forgive a hastily thrown-together float. The children don’t mind if we aren’t dressed the same or fail to march in synch. The one unforgivable sin is to run out of candy. Please bring plenty of candy. Your very life may depend on it when those kids get excited by the scent of tossed sweets. I recommend at least 2 bags of something wrapped, small, and relatively inexpensive. For example, Smarties work well. You’ll need something to carry the candy (those plastic pumpkin buckets for trick-or-treaters are cheap). Proper candy-tossing technique will be demonstrated prior to the parade. (Underhand tossing at their feet – not overhand at their heads – no matter how richly deserved).
-After the parade, we return to the school parking lot to strip the float. Then we will immediately head to our hike at Colditz Cove. This is a short drive from Allardt. The hike is only about 2 miles, but boots are recommended due to rocks and wet areas around the waterfall.
-Saturday Dinner – A restaurant in Jamestown, Bacara’s, is having an Oktoberfest dinner. Fount has reserved a TTA table for 6:30, however, you must call the restaurant to let them know you are joining us. The number to call is 931- 879-7121.
-Saturday tent camping back at Pickett State Park.