St. Ignace

Pumpkins will roll, pies will fly, and scarecrows will line State Street during the St. Ignace Bayside Fall Fest Saturday, October 4. Activities will begin at 10 a.m. and last until 8 p.m., and most are free.

Fresh produce and crafts will be offered at 10 a.m. at the Bayside Farmers Market at the marina.

Free tours will be offered at the Museum of Ojibwa Culture and the Fort de Buade Museum. Visitors can register for door prizes at both sites.

By 11 a.m. under the children's tents at the marina, baked goods will be available for purchase from the St. Ignace Teacher/Parent Organization. A contest will take place to guess the weight of a large pumpkin. U.P. Credit Union will hand out prizes to winners.

Free cider, doughnuts, and peanuts will be available under the tents all day. A nearby bounce house, sponsored by the Class of 2009, will be available for children for $1 throughout the day.

Families will visit downtown businesses to play Apple Bingo. A visit to a business allows participants to see if their card numbers match the number assigned to the store. Cards are free and available until 2 p.m. and prizes are available until 3 p.m.

Voting for a favorite decorated pumpkin gets underway at 11 a.m. at the children's tents and lasts until 3 p.m. For a penny, participants can chose their favorite design offered by students from St. Ignace and Gros Cap schools. The winning school class will be given a pizza party. Also at the tents, a Huron Boardwalk Scavenger Hunt begins at 11 a.m. with prizes for adults and children.

B.C. Pizza will host a pizza eating contest from 11 a.m. to midnight.

Families can get a tour of an Allied EMS ambulance during an open house at the marina from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The St. Ignace Fire Department will hold an open house at the fire station from noon until 4 p.m. The theme is "Prevent Home Fires," and information will be offered with a tour of a firetruck.

Across from City Hall, a pumpkin patch will be set up by the Gros Cap School Parent/Teacher Organization (PTO). Proceeds from the sale of pumpkins will benefit the PTO.

Free hay rides will be offered throughout the day between the marina and Little Bear East Arena, beginning at 11 a.m. A team of Belgian draft horses owned by Donna and Bill Amacher will be available for the wagon ride.

Under the children's tents at 1 p.m., judging will begin on three contests, a pie bake-off and children's dessert contest, a turkey building challenge, and a children's fall coloring contest. Preregistration is required, with forms available at St. Ignace Area Schools, Gros Cap School, and the Chamber of Commerce.

Games will also get underway at 1 p.m. at the marina, including pumpkin seed spitting for children and adults. Teams of children will vie for the championship of the toilet paper mummy wrap. Using one complete roll of toilet paper, a team will completely wrap one of its members. Doughnuts will dangle from string as children will attempt to eat them without using hands.

At 2:30 p.m., pies will begin to fly at community representatives during the pie-in-the-face auction. Highest bidders will be able to throw a pie at a selected person. The auction will raise funds for charities. The event is sponsored by First National Bank of St. Ignace.

Volunteers who will face the flying pies represent three groups, community, school, and sports. Volunteers in the community group are Jim North, Eric Dodson, and Pat Ramsay; school employees are Pat Chargo, Stephanie Terpening, and Mary Cullen; and sports enthusiasts are Deanna Kreski, Scott Marshall, and Chris "Iffer" Marshall.

Rolling pumpkins will begin at Goudreau Hill next to City Hall at 4 p.m. The cost is $1 to benefit the Gros Cap PTO. Participants will be awarded complimentary treats provided by the Mackinac Grille.

Catholic Girls Gone Bad and Crossing X will provide live music under the big tent at the marina from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m. Local restaurants will sell soup and bread, and beer and wine also will be available. Tickets for food and drinks in the big tent will be available for $1 each.

The Bayside Fall Fest is organized by the St. Ignace Events Committee, the St. Ignace Business Association, and volunteer Marcie North.