Wheatland Harvest Festival celebrated its 29th anniversary this past weekend Saturday, Sept. 16, and Sunday, Sept. 17, in the Wheatland City Park and Wheatland’s Settler’s Village. The two-day event saw a steady crowd on Saturday though festivities were cut short when storms began to roll in mid-afternoon. By Sunday the storms had moved on and left a clear sunny blue sky that welcomed a slightly decreased crowd who arrived for the non-denominational church services, followed by the traditional chicken dinner.
Saturday
Saturday morning kicked off Central Hickory Fire Rescue serving a Biscuits and Gravy breakfast in the cook-shack from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Vendors opened shop at 9 a.m., and this year there were approximately 20 vendors. Vendors sold a variety of goods including homemade body scrubs, jewelry, clothing, books, jams and honeys, artwork, and other miscellaneous items, most of which were homemade.
The Wheatland Settler’s Village Committee is in charge of organizing the Harvest Festival every year, with proceeds set to go towards upkeep of the cabins. This year the committee took their fundraising efforts to the next level and sold T-shirts to guests who wished to support the cause. The committee also organized a 50/50 raffle that they drew on Sunday, and a silent auction which ended Sunday at 1 p.m. The silent auction had 10 items including a gift basket, gift cards, a Christmas wreath, home fall decor, scentsy items, a dolls, and more.
The highlight of Saturday was the parade, which began at 11 a.m. Mark Houser and Susan Cannon sang the National Anthem to begin. This year’s parade featured approximately 20 vehicles, the majority of which were provided by the Central Fire Department and Duke Transportation. There were also two equestrian entries. As has become tradition, the parade was turned into a contest amongst the float entries. Judging the contest this year were Pam Robinson, Elli Robinson, and Craig Robinson. First place went to Baker Construction, who earned $40; a Horse and buggy drawn carriage from the Gunter Family, who won $35 and second place; third place went to Josey Joy’s, Josie Lehmann driving a motorcycle pulling a “Happy Harvest” Float. Other parade entries included DAT Farms, Hickory County Sheriff’s Office, and Rocky Rife, Emceeing the event was Bill Hargiss, who also did the announcement of the parade winners.
From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. the Wheatland FBLA served a limited lunch menu in the cook-shack to earn money for their chapter. The menu consisted of nachos, chips, candy, and drinks.
Music is always a main attraction to the day, with shows scheduled for every half hour to hour. Mark Houser began the entertainment at noon. Though all musicians had their own set time, many of them decided to join forces and performed together for most of the day. Susan Cannon and Marsha Creed both sang for a good portion of time. Elli Robinson was pulled on stage for a few songs. New to the Harvest Festival was Joannie Scherk, who is a well known performer at the Pomme de Terre Rendezvous, but had never performed her historical songs at the Harvest Festival before.
A double-sided bounce house was set up to entertain the younger kids, and several vendors put together activities to help provide something for the younger generations to enjoy. Arcadia was frequented by kids who wanted to win one of the many inflatable prizes. How they accomplished such a goal? They had to toss three balls in a row. Another vendor put together a dart-toss where kids popped balloons with darts for small prizes.
A few vendors also provided some extra fun for the adults. The Scentsy Booth ran a drawing for a $50 gift card. The winner of which is unknown. The Hickory County Quilt Makers also drew late in the afternoon for a quilt raffle, which was won by Carol Summers of Hermitage.
Sunday
The Harvest Festival kicked off its second day in much the same way as it had on Saturday. Central Hickory Fire Rescue served breakfast from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the cook-shack. Vendors opened their booths at 8 a.m. Many of Saturday’s vendors had disappeared overnight, some due to the fact their booths had been destroyed by the intense winds and heavy rainfall that struck the area the previous night.
Bob Cook performed live music from 10:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. when the non-denominational church services began.
The non-denominational church service combines the wisdom and words of various pastors from throughout the county and draws a large crowd. Elkton Christian Church’s Bro. John O’Quinn started the service by welcoming everyone and thanking them for coming. Weaubleau Community Bible Church’s Bro. Bryan Morris said the opening prayer. Bro. David Stewart from the Wheatland Church of the Nazarene followed with a scripture reading from the book of John 12:20-27.
Elkton Christian Church and Elkton Baptist Church then combined choirs to perform three songs: “The Church in the Wildwood,” “I Saw The Light,” and “This World Is Not My Home.” Amelia Stewart with the Wheatland Church of Nazarene followed by singing two songs, “Down From His Glory,” and “Prayer Warrior.” She was accompanied by Janie Terrell on keyboard. Terrell then accompanied her daughter, Tabitha Pursley, as she performed “Sinner Saved By Grace.” Pursley represented Weaubleau Community Bible Church.
With that it was time for the main message of the service. Bro. Paul Cofer from the Elkton Baptist Church was selected to deliver the message. He pulled from the book of John, 2nd Chronicles, and Romans. His message centered around being sinners and how salvation was purchased through the blood of Christ, whose sacrifice opened humanity’s path back to God. He preached that while God is righteous and does judge, that he is ultimately a God of mercy and love, willing to forgive any transgression as long as the sinner turned their heart over to God.
He ended by asking everyone to take a few minutes out of every day to pray for the country. He then led a quick prayer. Hargiss then encouraged everyone to sing a chorus of “Jesus Loves Me,” before turning it to Church of God Holiness representative Mike Brixley, who said the closing prayer.
Following the church service, the crowd gathered at the cook-shack for the traditional smoked chicken dinner. Side dishes included potato salad, baked beans, rolls, and a cookie. They served from noon until they ran out, just a little before 1:30 p.m. and had prepared a total of 125 meals. Proceeds from the dinner help the Settler’s Village.
The drawing for the 50/50 took place at 1 p.m. The winner was Joleen Fisher who earned $194. They also closed the silent auction at this same time frame. The highest selling item was a cast iron cooking set, which was purchased by Dawn Bliss for $45. The Silent Auction earned a total of $227.50.
Mark Swaggert and Bill Hargiss performed live music from noon to 1 p.m. They were relieved by the County Men of Note who performed for the last hour of the day.
