Activities planned for Harvest Moon Fest

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Today is officially the start of the fall season (no groans), but there are some compensations for the fact that winter is likely not that far away.

One of the main compensations is the fourth edition of Main Street Van Wert’s annual Harvest Moon Festival, which is set for Saturday, September 29, from 3-11 p.m., in downtown Van Wert.

“We’re hoping for good weather,” said Main Street Van Wert Director Mitch Price, who added: “We’re trying to make this a really great fall festival; we keep tweaking it each year to make even better.”

This year’s schedule of events will begin with check-in for the Outhouse Races, which will run in the block of Main Street between Washington and Market streets, at 2:30 p.m.

Price said there should be a good number of outhouses entered in this year’s race — anywhere from 6 to 10 — including some returning entries, as well as new participants.

The Outhouse Races will begin at 3:30 that afternoon, and Price said he thinks they’ll be pretty competitive.

At 3 p.m., food vendors will open, while several downtown merchants will also showcase sales and special displays and other vendors will be selling artisan and craft items.

Price said there will be several food trucks in the downtown area for the festival to provide a variety of food and drink for the festival.

At 5:30 p.m., a Doughnut Eating Contest and cornhole tournament will be held downtown, while Ben Montgomery, who is music director for LifeHouse Church in Van Wert, will provide music from 6-6:30 p.m. At 6:30, Section Ate will entertain festival-goers with its own brand of rock music, while two 65-inch televisions provided by Rent-A-Center and a cable box provided by TSC Cable will be set up in the Former Mayor Eugene Bagley Alley to broadcast the Ohio State vs. Penn State football game, starting at 7:30 p.m.

Final call for the festival will be at 10:30 that evening.