Pumpkin
weigh-in changed to 8 a.m. at Gilpin's Monuments
Miss
America to be Grand Marshal of the 107th Pumpkin Show Parade
Wanda English Burnett, Editor
Where can you find Miss America 2009, gigantic pumpkins, royalty
galore - king, queen, prince, princess - a pumpkin decorating
contest, great stage entertainment, and a pumpkin baking contest?
The answer is easy - at the 107th Versailles Pumpkin Show September
24-27!
Excitement is mounting as members of the Versailles Lions Club
are putting the finishing touches on the four-day event that
promises more twists and turns than one of the great amusement
rides set up by Luehr Rides!
This year the highlight of the parade on Saturday that already
draws thousands, will be the Grand Marshal, Miss America 2009,
Katie Stam.
Hailing from Seymour the reigning Miss America will be delighting
the crowd with not only her beauty, but her musical talent as
she sings the National Anthem on stage.
After the parade, Miss America - the first to be chosen from
Indiana in the pageants 88-year history - will be on stage
at 1:15 to talk about her experience. She will share her personal
platform - Community Service and Involvement. Were
very excited about bringing Miss Stam to the Pumpkin Show this
year, noted Jerry Gilpin, Versailles Lions Club Chairman
of the Pumpkin Show.
Attention Pumpkin
Growers:
One of the changes for this years Pumpkin Show includes
the weighing of the giant pumpkins.
The weigh-in will take place at Gilpins Monuments on Saturday,
September 26 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Gilpins Monuments
is located one block South of the stoplight in Versailles on
US 421.
This is the first year the pumpkins have not been weighed after
the parade. To qualify, the pumpkins must be weighed before
the parade only. All pumpkins will then be an entry in the parade
with the winners announced after the parade on stage.
New This Year:
Calling all children in grades one through four!
The Versailles Lions Club will be offering a free pumpkin decorating
opportunity on Saturday beginning at 12:30 on the Versailles
Courthouse lawn. The Tyson Library teen group will be assisting
the children. Pumpkins will be provided with each decorated
pumpkin taken home by the participant.
Changes This Year:
Advance ticket outlets have opened up to include not only the
schools in the area, Jac-Cen-Del, Milan, and South Ripley, but
will also be available at the Versailles Super Valu, Friendship
State Bank and MainSource Bank and Ripley Publishing Co. in
Versailles. They can also be purchased at the Whitewater Motor
Co. in Milan.
The tickets in advance will sell 16 for $12 with Wednesday night
being discount ride night. That night each ride will only require
one ticket. No advance tickets will be sold after 5 p.m. on
Thursday, September 24.
The annual Pumpkin Show Dance will be held at the Versailles
Legion Park Saturday at 9 p.m. The dress code will be casual.
This is a change from the usual place at the Tyson Gym, which
is under renovation.
Opening up the opportunity for schools to send a King and Queen
candidate without the stipulation of bringing a band to the
parade has resulted in nearly doubling the contestants.
Wednesday night, 12 schools will participate, with a total of
24 contestants for the King and Queen titles. The contest will
begin at 7:30 p.m. on stage with the following contestants:
Chelsea McGuire, daughter of David and Melissa McGuire;
and Bryan Buchanan, son of Ron Buchanan and Kimberly Johnson,
will represent Cavehill Christian Academy, Versailles.
Danielle Schaefer, daughter of Dan and Ruth Schaefer,
and Taylor Meyers, son of Tim and Penny Hartman and Chris Meyers,
will represent Milan High School.
Representing Jac-Cen-Del High School will be Renee Meister,
daughter of David and Jodi Meister and Ethan Harmeyer, son of
Ken and Terry Harmeyer.
South Ripley High Schools candidates will be Kyla
Sexton, daughter of Tim and Lora Sexton and Jacob Waldron, son
of Scott and Dede Fields, and Tony Waldron.
Olivia Quiroz, daughter of Pable and Diane Quiroz, and
Trevor Stacy, son of Tony and Jean Stacy, will represent Oldenburg
Academy.
Switzerland County High Schools representatives
will be Angela Swanson, daughter of Dana Swanson and Belinda
Swanson and Caleb McClellan, son of Larry McClellan and Mary
McClellan.
The Southeastern Career Center will be represented by
Abby Ertel, daughter of Ron and Robin Ertel and Easton Asher,
son of Susan and Rod Asher.
Sara Sandford, daughter of Jeanne and Butch Sandford,
and Travis Hawkins, son of Sherri Hawkins, will represent Lawrenceburg
High School.
Sara Niles, daughter of Andy and Noreen Niles, and Alex
Pulskamp, son of Jim and Lisa Pulskamp will be representing
North Decatur High School.
East Central will be represented by Colleen Hornbach,
daughter of Ron and Connie Hornbach, and Jonathon Hensley, son
of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Hensley.
Shawe Memorial High School, Madison, will be represented
by Mariah Keith, daughter of Gary and Diana Keith, and John
Gilpin, son of Jerry and Natalie Gilpin.
Abbey Gilb, daughter of Rick and Kristie Gilb, and Harry
Dean, son of Harry and Peggy Dean, will represent South Dearborn
High School.
On with the show:
Thursday the day will start early with bakers bringing their
entries to Ripley Publishing Co. office at 8 a.m. The basic
requirement for the variety of categories available is that
each entry contain pumpkin. (See inside insert for more details).
This contest has grown and several lucky winners will take home
cash, hand crafted aprons made by Natalie Gilpin, with the overall
best baker taking home a plaque and $200 cash!
All of the winners will be announced on stage Thursday night,
September 24 immediately following the Prince and Princess Contest,
also sponsored by the Ripley Publishing Co
The Prince and Princess candidates are all first graders selected
by their respective school and are as follows:
Paris Raab, daughter of Ray and Mariann Raab, and Jackson
Forbeck, son of Jacob and Kathy Forbeck, representing St. Louis
Catholic School.
Jasmine Lutz, daughter of Jacob and Mindy McFarland,
and Joshua Clark, son of Tony and Kris Clark, representing Milan
Elementary.
Representing St. Nicholas Catholic School are Jessica
Rees, daughter of Patrick Rees and Bryan Rohrig, son of Fred
Rohrig.
Jac-Cen-Del Elementary will be represented by Kiara Owens,
daughter of Amber Gonzalez, and Ethan Walterman, son of Shawn
and Cassie Walterman.
Batesville Primary School will have the following contestants,
Laci Utterback, daughter of Robert Utterback, and Landon Gutzwiller,
son of Jeff and Gretchen Gutzwiller.
Sarah Taylor, daughter of Steve and Vicki Taylor and
Colby Bush, son of Hugh and Patricia Bush will represent South
Ripley Elementary.
Skylar Engle, daughter of Greg and Jennifer Engle and
J.J. Stenger, son of Jerry and Sandra Stenger, will represent
Sunman Elementary.
Following the Prince and Princess Contest, stage entertainment
provided by Ripley Publishing Co. will continue with the baking
contest winners being named and then the famous Pumpkin Pie
Eating Contest.
Pie eaters representing each of the four area schools will see
how much pie - pumpkin of course - they can eat in one minute,
to claim the title for their school.
Participants from each school are encouraged to bring their
friends to cheer them on. Students typically make signs and
a lot of noise for the candidate of their choice. The winners
will be declared by Sports Editor Gary Franklin and will take
home cash. All the contestants will be given coupons, compliments
of the Versailles Dairy Queen.
Pie eating contestants are: Laura Kaufhold and Ben Jackson,
Milan; Samantha White and Ryan Schuler, Jac-Cen-Del; Sara Leonard
and Vincent Goble, Southeastern Career Center, and Ciera Clark
and Scott McNeelan, South Ripley.
Also on Thursday, this year those bringing entries of Home Arts,
Flowers, and Baked and Canned Goods to the Pumpkin Show Contest,
can take them to the Historical Society building (old bank building
on the square in Versailles), from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. These exhibits
will be judged Thursday evening.
Friday night will showcase local talent with a Talent Show from
5:05 to 7:45 p.m. and great stage entertainment.
Every evening a great line up of live music will be presented
on stage. The squeals of delight as children enjoy the rides,
coupled with the smells of festival food will be prevalent each
day as the festival fires up the fun factor.
The Versailles Lions Club sponsors the four-day event with all
the profits staying in the community - in keeping with Miss
Americas platform.
It will be great to not only have such a big celebrity
(Miss America), but one who promotes community service and involvement
is a bonus - thats what the Lions Club is all about,
concluded Jerry Gilpin.
This years Pumpkin Show promises to be one-of-a-kind -
one you wont want to miss.
l