On a bit of a soggy morning, hundreds of neighbors, friend sand family descended upon Becker City Park Saturday for the BCC’s 8th annual October Harvest Fest. The weather improved as the day progressed with temperatures hovering in the low to mid-60’s.

 

The event commenced with the annual 5K walk/run through the scenic wooded 100-acre trails at city park. Many people dressed run-friendly while others wore costumes and fall, Halloween and harvest attire. T-shirts were given away to early registrants.

 

A 1K fun run was offered for youth 12 and under and they took off around 11:45 a.m. and had t-shirts too. 

 

Participants in the races registered at 9:15 a.m., paid their $25 and  were encouraged to bring a non-perishable food shelf item to be donated to the Becker Food Shelf.

 

While the race was going on, the park area behind the pavillion was full of entertainment and fun for adults and kids of all ages. There were games, inflatables, face painting and prize giveaways. They also served some flavorful chili.

 

Alison Love Unzelman was busy throughout, decorating the faces of youngsters with her fanciful artwork on faces, arms and hands. Unzelman is also a local photographer.

 

Carson Schuster, eight, of Becker stood in line, then bought a ticket at the Hay Dig and was given 30 seconds to scrounge through piles of dry hay to find prizes and candy buried beneath.

 

A family from Sartell, the Dales, posed for photos at the hay bales, then bought tickets for rides and games. Ryan and Jenny (mom and dad) ushered their youngsters dressed in costume — Robert (Batman), Rory (Incredible Hulk) and Rocco, who was dressed as a pumpkin.

 

There was also Ping Pong games, marble games and “guess the size of the pumpkin” games.

 

Saturday’s fun also included hayrides and pony rides from 11 a.m. to 1:50 p.m.

 

Forty-eight people participated in the day’s races. Medals were awarded to the top three male and female finishers per age category (six categories) and a trophy was handed out for the top team finisher.

 

James Abfalter, 51 of Big Lake finished first with a time of 20:54.300. He was followed by David Hartz. 60 of Cold Spring (21:24.650) and Ned Koivisto, 20 of St. Cloud (21:28.870).

 

The fastest female was Angela Jordahl, 45 of Big Lake with a time of 25:36.730. She was followed by Emily Schmitt, 38 of Delano (26:21.190) and Pam Liesch, 55 of Sauk Rapids (26:24.010).

 

The Girl Scouts Service Unit hosted a Cake Walk with lots of goodies. The cakewalk allowed participants to get a chance to win some yummy treats, or one could buy some for just a dollar more. All proceeds went to Becker Girl Scouts.

 

The Slew Foot Family Band provided music from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. This multi-talented family band comprised of Duane and Karen Becker and their eight children, travels the Midwest playing a variety or musical styles including bluegrass, country, gospel, Irish, folk and patriotic. 

 

A free shuttle service was provided for guests to and from city park to Pebble Creek Golf Course throughout the event