PHOTO PROVIDED
A trebuchet is pictured at a past year’s Punkin’ Chunkin’ event at Bald Eagle State Park.
HOWARD — The annual Punkin’ Chunkin’ Fall Festival, hosted by the Howard Fire Company, will take place today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Bald Eagle State Park. This year marks the 14th year the festival has been held.
This event offers free admission, free parking and lots of family fun! The festival began in 2011 and is a wonderful way to spend an autumn day outdoors, basking in the colors and scents of fall, while watching something that you won’t normally see in Centre County at any other time of the year.
The Punkin Chunkin Festival’s opening ceremony begins at 10 a.m., where many of the visiting chunkers and their teams will be introduced. Trebuchets and air cannons will be launching pumpkins into Sayers Lake, every 15 minutes or so, from 10:30 a.m. until noon. After a break for lunch for the volunteers and safety checks on the launchers, it’s back to hurling those orange gourds into the lake until the close of the festival at 5 p.m.
Howard Fire Company is the proud owner of their own air cannon, “Chunk’n-ology,” purchased from a competitive chunking team a few years ago for use during the fire company’s annual festival, which is the primary fundraiser for the fire department.
Nine chunking teams are expected to travel to Howard for this year’s Punkin Chunkin competition.
This year there are over 100 craft vendors and more than 20 food vendors expected to be in attendance. There will be hayrides, mini pumpkin chunkers, a bounce house and activities for everyone to enjoy throughout the day.
New this year is the Craft Beverage Garden featuring craft beer, wine and cider from Bullfrog Brewery of Williamsport.
A pie eating contest is planned at 2:30 p.m., and participants are encouraged to take part! This is a fun part of the festival that many spectators eagerly watch while cheering on the pie eaters. The delicious pies used in the contest are made by local Amish women.
Collectible T-shirts and other apparel items will be available for purchase at the event.
This year’s shirts show a picture of the Pa. HART (helicopter aquatic rescue team) chopper grabbing a rescued pumpkin from the fire company’s water rescue team sitting in the Howard Fire Company’s inflatable rescue boat.
The design is a proud nod to the local fire company’s seven members who are certified and part of the Water Rescue team. These guys have often assisted in flooding situations and water rescue and victim recovery efforts in our region.
The fire company hoped that the HART chopper could be here for the festival, but the crew is busy assisting with hurricane relief efforts. However, there will be a National Guard Black Hawk chopper landing on the beach which will be there for the duration of the festival for you to get up close and personal with. Check it out and feel free to ask questions of the crew members and take photos!
According to local weather reports, it’s going to be a beautiful fall day, sunny and in the 70s. The leaves are going to be at their brightest.
Motorists are asked to be patient when approaching the park entrance and to look for fire police who will be directing traffic. There’s only one way in and out of the park, so go slow, stay alert and enjoy the day at Bald Eagle State Park.