Pumpkins and costumes and zombies, oh my!

Posted on Oct 27, 2012 in Downtown Paris by Jeff Parish

This year marked the 12th anniversary for the City of Paris Main Street Festival of Pumpkins, and there were plenty of pumpkins, costumes and the undead to satisfy any gourd lover.

Plenty of kids dressed up and strutted their stuff before judges in the costume contest this year. In the newborn to 3 category, Keaton Schardt won first place as a lobster in a pot. Canyon Little‘s routine as a bag of popcorn earned second place. Alice and Keaton together won third as Thing One and Thing Two. In the 4 to 7 division, Kindle Fox wowed the judges with his portrayal of a gangster for first place. Keidi Pasternak swam to second place as a mermaid. Jonathan Jones shambled into third place as a skeleton zombie. The undead swept the 8 to 12 category. Madison Doane took first as a character from Day of the Dead, while Kaia Claypool‘s zombie earned second place and Hannah Gibbon third place.

In the pet pageant costume contest, first place went to Marsha Womack‘s Team, a great Pyrenees that served as a mount for a small cowboy. Second place went to Star, Sheri Thompson‘s toy Aussie pirate. Debra Canfield‘s Lady Bella Mae, a mixed breed dressed as Amelia Earhart and plane, took home third place.

In the dog/owner look alike costume contest, Kalem Ishell and his lab Sawyer took home first place for their skeleton get-ups. Ally Moffitt and Maltese Eaddie earned second place for their camo outfits. Team and Womack took home third place.

The pumpkin decorating contest also had three divisions. In 8 and under, Cole Fendley won first place with his deer-themed design, Case Fendley won second for his doggy gourd, and Canoun Gaddy won third for a pirate pumpkin. Hannah Yackeschi‘s pumpkin proclaiming the word “Faith” was the only entry in the 9 to 13 age group. In the 14 and up division, Becky Weems won first place with her witch, Cris Scot earned second with a pumpkin eating smaller pumpkins, and Kaleigh Daniels‘ pig won third place.

In the Freeze-Off, Evelyn Walker won best seasonal with her sweet potato pie ice cream. Stephanie Darst‘s zebra cake earned her the title of most creative, and Tommy Stone won best overall with his lemon lavender.

About 220 people signed up for this year’s Zombie Walk. Last year’s walk raised $3,000 for the Downtown Food Pantry. This year’s event raised funds for the YWCA MPower program, Safe House and the veteran’s memorial. Before the walk even started, more than $2,500 had already been raised.