Pumpkin fun for everyone

At 10 a.m., about 25 preschoolers stood in a row waiting their turn at the 25-yard Pumpkin Fun Run.

Lingering on the sidelines, awaiting their categories, were 5-year-old Meleeah McKown and her brother Marshall, 10.

"She'll be in the next one," said their mother, Franci, motioning toward her daughter.

Both Johnson Lane children belong to the Wicked Chickens, a division of the Douglas County 4-H Club, which co-sponsored the Fall Family Festival Pumpkin Patch on Saturday along with Douglas County Parks & Recreation. Meleeah had a horse painted on one cheek and red streaks in her hair.

"I got my hair painted," said Meleeah, who later received third place in the kindergarten girls division.

Face and hair painting was just one of many booths at the festival, mostly run by 4-H members. The Reptile Club was selling pieces of pumpkin pie, manning a darts booth and making snow cones.

"The different clubs do different things," said Reptiles Club co-leader Allison Floyd. "Shannon (Montana, 4-H youth development coordinator) tries to coordinate it so not everybody's competing."

Floyd's son, Travis, 9, walked around the festival carrying a sign that said "Pumpkin pie - $2." He set the sign down briefly to run and sign up for the fun run. Lucky thing, since he also took a third that day against other fourth-grade boys.

According to Janis Jobe, also a Reptiles Club co-leader, the children were in charge of running all the booths.

"Even at the meetings, the kids have to make all the decisions," Jobe said.

Also in the gazebo, Carson Valley Future Farmers of America sold food, such as hot dogs and nachos.

Children, dressed like princesses, witches and pirates, moved from attraction to attraction, catching eyefuls from booths set up by Tumbleweeds Gymnastics, featuring gymnasts doing tumbling exercises, and Northwest Martial Arts, with contests and ongoing karate demonstrations.

Cannon fire could be heard in the distance from Heritage Park, where Old Town Days with Civil War battle demonstrations was taking place. Minden Park was busy that day as well, with a Scarecrow Festival sponsored by Valley artists and the Family Support Council's Costume Patch.

Other activities at the Lampe Park festival were horseback rides, a petting zoo, a silent auction and a costume contest. A United Blood Services blood drive vehicle, sponsored by Carson Valley Kiwanis and Douglas County 4-H, was parked in the parking lot.

"We've got a ready made list of donors with this event going on here," said Steve Lewis, Douglas County Extension Educator, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension.

"This event has grown substantially," he said. "The idea is to bring all these community departments together. It's the beauty of it."

Heidi Phillips of Gardnerville said her family usually goes to the Scarecrow Festival, but this year decided to come to the Fall Family Festival to meet her son Cody's friends who would be going out with them later for a pizza party, to celebrate Cody's ninth birthday. Cody's younger brother, Justin, 6, his grandparents from Eureka, Calif., Levi and Lore Humphrey and his friend Michael Angst, 8, made up the birthday party group.

"We come over for Cody's birthday. Ever since they moved we visit, usually in the spring and fall," said Cody's grandpa.

Justin was a third-place winner that day, in the first-grade boys division, taking home a pumpkin, whether he needed it or not.

"He's got a lot of pumpkins. They grow them," laughed grandpa, Levi.

Joe Benigno's Tree Service donated the pumpkins for the pumpkin patch and the costume prizes.

First prize for the Pumpkin Fun Run was a frozen turkey, second prize was a pumpkin pie and third prize was a pumpkin. Prizes were donated by Raley's, Scolari's and Wal-Mart.

"We're very happy they were able to do this, to keep the costs down," Douglas County recreation coordinator J.P. Albert said.

Winners of the 2006 Pumpkin Fun Run

Girls: preschool 25-yard run - first place Mikayla Paxton, second place Dellta Waldburger, third place Emily Carr; kindergarten 25-yard run - first place Maegan Collins, second place Brooke Eddy, third place Meleeah McKowen; first grade 25-yard run - first place Kaylee Silva, second place Scarlett Harmon, third place Fallon Montanucci; second grade 25-yard run - first place Jaycie Roberts, second place Hanna Grisell, third place Kenadee Jeppsen; third grade 50-yard run - first place Maddy Lowe, second place Alissa Holley Rutherford, third place Kira Sikora; fourth grade 50-yard run - first place Olivia Abbott, second place Alisha Ross, third place Annika Sikora; fifth grade 100-yard run - first place Brooke Park, second place Brooke Hranek, third place Shelley Blotter; sixth grade 100-yard run - first place Breana Lummus, second place Morgan Rutherford, third place Aspen Abbott.

Boys: preschool 25-yard run - first place Shawn Ryan, second place Lucas Hudnall, third place Wyatt Kremer; kindergarten 25-yard run - first place Delsin Roberts, second place Luke Schinzing, third place Evan Jeppsen; first grade 25-yard run - first place Jake Houghton, second place Payton Harris, third place Justin Phillips; second grade 25-yard run - first place Hayden Brown, second place Kolby Lundberg, third place Luke Reinholz; third grade 50-yard run - first place Daniel Owens, second place Derek Wing, third place Travis Anderson; fourth grade 50-yard run - first place Nathan Fletcher, second place Jacob Evanson, third place Travis Floyd; fifth grade 100-yard run - first place Brendan Callahan, second place Mason Rhoads, third place Brandon Harmon; sixth grade 100-yard run - first place Cody Carter, second place Sean Marrits, third place Weylin Shepherd.