October 13, 2014 at 3:32 p.m.
Thousands enjoy 22nd annual Pumpkin Fest in Three Lakes
Thousands enjoy 22nd annual Pumpkin Fest in Three Lakes
The fest, which has grown from a few vendors set up in the Three Lakes community building over two decades ago to an event that fills both school gymnasiums, the cafeteria, and even spills out into the parking lot, supports the Three Lakes Fire Department. This year, non-perishable food items were also collected for the Three Lakes Christian Food Pantry.
There was food aplenty Saturday, all of which was made by auxiliary president Cindy Starke and her team of volunteers. The proceeds from the food sales, along with the money made from vendor fees, goes to the auxiliary which in turn supports the fire department.
"All the proceeds from the food and also the money that we collect from the vendors for their booths, that's all for the fire department," Starke said. "A long time ago we had three big fires in the town and the firemen were all there all night long and we realized they needed food and drinks and support, so that's how it started. All of our firefighters are volunteers and we knew we needed to support them and all they do for the town, so we formed our group and we do whatever we can to help."
Pumpkin Fest is just one of the many things the auxiliary does to support the department. I is also one of the most successful ways the group has to raise money to support the firefighters. In the beginning, it was just a small get-together of a few vendors trying to raise money to support the town's firefighters.
It would be a vast understatement to say the event grown over the years.
"We started out in the community building and I think we had maybe 25 crafters that first year, but then we started to get more and more, so we moved it into the school," Starke said.
"Even then, it wasn't as big as it is now. We started in the school just having them set up down the hallways, but it has just grown and grown over the years to the point where we have to take over both the gyms and the cafeteria and we even have some of the crafters and farmers' market guys set up outside. It's been an amazing thing to see. It's grown into something unbelievable."
What's even more unbelievable is the amount of support the event receives. Vendors and eager consumers come from all over the state and beyond.
"It's wonderful. People come from all over. Even the crafters, we have people coming in from Minnesota and other places and they say this is one of their best shows," Starke said. "That's very nice to hear. And it's very nice to see. I mean we are packed from the time we open until the time we have to close it all down. It's been great to see how many people will come out to support our event and our fire department."
When Starke describes the event to outsiders, she tells them how the people who attend the fest are "elbow-to-elbow" for most of it. As an organizer, one would forgive a little hyperbole when talking up her event. However, Starke speaks the truth when describing just how many people attend each year.
Accurate attendance numbers would be almost impossible to compute, and Starke said she's never even tried, though that hasn't stopped others from trying to keep count of how many people show up for the event.
"I've never tried to keep count, but there have been people who have. Someone once told me they thought about 10,000 people came through. Whether that's true or not, I don't know," Starke said.
"That seems like an awful lot, but when you're here all day and you see that there's just as many at the beginning as there are when we're done, who knows, it could be that much. I have no idea. I just know we get enough people to really be able to help out our firefighters."
For those who attend the fest every year, the crowds are nothing new.
"Oh, it's like this every year. No matter what the weather is or anything, there's always a huge crowd," Stephanie Wilkers said.
"A lot of times, you'll think to yourself, 'I should get here really early and beat the crowd,' and you should get here early, but it's not to beat the crowd. The crowd's always here. You just need to get here early to make sure you can get your hands on the pie and caramel apples. That's key."
For the uninitiated, the crowd can come as quite a shock.
"I would never have guessed there would be this many people. Heck, I would never have guessed there's this many people up here in the first place. This is something else," said Sue Perry, a first-time fest attendee.
"It's not hard to see why, though. There's tons of great stuff here and I see the money goes to the food pantry and the fire department. A combo like that's a win-win if I've ever seen one."
Marcus Nesemann may be reached at [email protected].
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