Pumpkins fly at harvest festival

The Rogenator and the Gourd Stormer drew people of all ages to the Fourth Columbia River Country Days Harvest Festival at Two Islands Farm Market last Friday.

Adults and children milled around on a perfect autumn afternoon, listening to music, shopping for fresh corn and visiting.

Rob Stockhouse found water balloon launchers on the internet and found them perfect for pumpkin “chunkin."

“Water balloons tend to explode,” he said. Stockhouse, who grew a 600-pound pumpkin last year, said “I didn’t grow any this year. This was a terrible year for pumpkins.”

But the small pumpkins, donated by Jackie and Andy Lea, were the perfect size for hurling, he noted.

The Wahkiakum County Chamber of Commerce cooked hamburgers and hotdogs to benefit the Wahkiakum High School cheerleaders. The cheerleaders themselves were at an away game.

“When they came through in the summer with their sponsorship, we were happy to come alongside,” said Lynda Gerlach, Chamber Coordinator.