This Small-Town Harvest Festival In Minnesota Belongs On Your Autumn Bucket List

The charming community of Stillwater, Minnesota has much to offer. In fact, we think it’s one of the best small-town getaways in the country. With as much as there is going on in Stillwater at any given time, it’s probably not much of a surprise that it’s home to my favorite small-town harvest festival in Minnesota. As far as these kinds of festivals go, they don’t get more unique, or perhaps wacky, than Stillwater’s.

As the trees of the St. Croix River valley begin to take on the golden mantles of autumn, folks in Stillwater turn their minds to… pumpkins.

Really, seriously, large pumpkins.

Local growers baby them and ensure that they keep growing for as long as possible so, come October, they can load them up and haul them into downtown Stillwater.

There, they’ll be arrayed along the riverfront for Stillwater’s annual Harvest Fest.

It takes place over the second weekend in October each year.

Folks will come to admire them, and perhaps pose for a pumpkin portrait or two.

The pumpkins will then be weighed, one by one, and a winner - by weight - will be announced.

And then the fun really begins!

Some pumpkins will be carved.

The biggest and most seaworthy pumpkins, however, will be set aside.

Cockpits will be carved out, pilots will be recruited, and they’ll be launched on their maiden (and, usually, final) voyages at the annual Pumpkin Regatta.

Racers will paddle their pumpkins across the autumn-chilled waters of the St. Croix, trying simultaneously to make it to the finish line and not sink.

The first one across wins bragging rights and a trophy. Everyone else gets wet and cold.

The most popular event, though, is the giant pumpkin smash.

A crane hauls a giant gourd 100 feet into the air, and when the time comes, lets go. The exploding pumpkin splatters the front row of onlookers and thrills the crowd.Check out the giant pumpkin drop in this YouTube video from Pictures Over Stillwater:

Yes, Stillwater’s Harvest Fest is a little pumpkin-centric, but it’s a heck of a lot of fun - I’d say it’s one of my favorite Minnesota festivals of the year. If you plan to go and hope to stay in town, be sure to book your room well in advance - it’s a pretty popular event.

Have you been to Harvest Fest? Tell us about it in the comments, and be sure to let us know about your favorite fall festival in Minnesota.