Thousands Fall into Fun downtown
SKYE POURNAZARI/THE FORUM
Winners of the Downtown Maryville Giant Pumpkin Contest are shown with their gigantic gourds Sunday at the Downtown Pocket Park. New this year as a part of the second annual Downtown Maryville Market Fall into Fun event, the contest saw more than 150 people enter for the chance to grow the biggest pumpkin. Joe Frueh, of Maryville, took first place with a pumpkin weighing 637 pounds. Colt Ridge, of Grant City, took second place with a pumpkin weighing 420 pounds. Megan McQuinn, of Conception Junction, took third with her pumpkin weighing in at 126 pounds.
MARYVILLE, Mo. — With an enormous crowd numbering 2,000-plas, more than 70 vendors and giant pumpkins, the second annual Downtown Maryville Market Fall into Fun event last weekend offered a little something for everyone.
From free pumpkin painting, giant bubble making and Safety Alley offering a peek at law enforcement vehicles, to a pumpkin pie eating contest in the Downtown Pocket Park and vendors offering tables brimming with homemade and homegrown items, the market surrounded the Nodaway County Courthouse with something to do at every turn.
A small train pulled by a garden tractor offered rides to children all around the square to take a gander at decorated pumpkins and get a quick picture of the entire affair.
New to the event this year, big pumpkins grown by local residents were on display around the square and the three winners’ gigantic gourds were displayed in the Downtown Pocket Park.
Downtown Maryville board member and contest organizer Rod Couts told the group gathered, explaining that some people who weighed in went ahead and took them home. Others allowed their pumpkins to be decorated and placed around the square during the event.
The largest pumpkin was grown by Joe Frueh, of Maryville, weighing in at 637 pounds and netting its grower a $1,000 prize.
Couts introduced the winners and, with the help of Harold Spire, presented the prizes.
Pumpkin-growing prodigy Frueh said he didn’t do anything with or to his pumpkin from Aug. 5 until the weigh-in. Once hearing about an earlier pumpkin grown by second-place winner Colt Ridge, of Grant City, he thought his pumpkin would be diminutive by comparison.
“I kept thinking I had about a 300-pound pumpkin,” he told The Forum, so he was pleasantly surprised at Friday’s weigh-in at MFA.
Ridge’s pumpkin weighed in at 420 pounds. His advice to anyone looking to participate in the contest next year is to give the pumpkin a lot of water.
“It’s fun,” he said. “It’s a lot of work.”
Megan McQuinn, of Conception Junction and Frueh’s sister, took third place with her 126-pound behemoth.
This year’s Fall into Fun also featured a pumpkin pie eating contest with three divisions: men, women and youth. Each flight was timed. The pies were weighed before and after, and the person eating the most pie in the allotted three minutes (two minutes for youth) — without using their hands — won the prize: a fresh half of a pumpkin pie and a gift certificate for a free fruit pie of their choice at a later time from contest sponsor Hy-Vee.
Spire won the men’s division, eating one pound of pie, as announced by Matt Gaarder, who emceed the contest in the Downtown Pocket Park. Other contestants included Jake Oliver and Anthony Jack.
Skye Pournazari, who moonlights as managing editor of The Forum alongside her pro-level pie punishing, took first place in the women’s division in a tough competition against Jaylee Wynn and Harley Chappell. Pournazari and Chappell tied and were required to pack in even more pumpkin pie for 30 more seconds.
Emalee Wynn, 16, won the youth division, besting her brother, Ryder Wynn, 12, and contestant Leo Patterson, 14. Intent on knowing if she could drink water during the contest, Couts told Emalee that if she wanted to take the time to do it and brought her own, sure. She made good use of it during the contest, taking just a little sip.
“This year’s Fall into Fun exceeded our expectations,” DeAnn Davison, executive director of Downtown Maryville, said in a statement. “The addition of new contests, like the giant pumpkin competition and the pie-eating contest, brought a lot of excitement. We have an incredible group of dedicated volunteers and it’s wonderful to see the community come together to support local vendors and enjoy everything the day had to offer.”
Couts said that next year, they hope to grow the pumpkin contests even further, possibly by offering a pumpkin decorating contest and expanding the pie eating contest.
EDITOR’S NOTE: All articles that involve a member of The Forum’s staff, like this one, are edited and approved by at least one other member of the news staff to ensure it meets editorial standards and to add alliterative adjectives as needed.
SKYE POURNAZARI/THE FORUM
In the youth division of Sunday’s pumpkin pie eating contest, brother and sister Ryder Wynn and Emalee Wynn look at each other after stuffing their faces into pies and gorging on as much as they could. Emalee ended up winning the youth contest.
SKYE POURNAZARI/THE FORUM
Shoppers abound in downtown Maryville during Sunday’s Fall into Fun event. From noon to 6 p.m., attendees could participate in various free activities from creating giant bubbles to pumpkin painting and even some pie eating. The Downtown Maryville Market is now closed for the season following this special event.
