{"id":160,"date":"2026-07-14T13:18:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T19:18:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/monticelloiowaheritagecenter.com\/?p=160"},"modified":"2026-07-14T13:18:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T19:18:03","slug":"harvest-hoedown-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/monticelloiowaheritagecenter.com\/?p=160","title":{"rendered":"Harvest Hoedown Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Theme: \u201cFrom Dirt to Dancefloor\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>\u201cCelebrating the last big harvest before the frost hits \u2014 one pie, one tractor pull, and one two-step at a time.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Friday Night \u2013 Kickoff<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>5:00 PM: Grand Opening Parade down Main Street (tractors, antique trucks, kids on ponies, the high school marching band playing country hits)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>6:30 PM: Pig Roast &amp; Potluck Supper (bring a dish, get a free sweet tea)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>8:00 PM: Live music with <strong>The Rusty Silos<\/strong> (local bluegrass band) + square dancing lessons in the big barn<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Saturday \u2013 Full Farm Frenzy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>All day:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Giant Corn Maze (new this year \u2014 \u201cThe Great Maze of \u201926\u201d)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Petting zoo with baby goats, miniature donkeys, and a surprisingly friendly llama named Kevin<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fresh produce &amp; craft market (pumpkins, apples, honey, handmade quilts, jarred preserves)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Kids\u2019 activities: sack races, face painting, hay-jumping pit<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>10:00 AM: <strong>World-Famous Pie Eating Contest<\/strong> (blueberry, apple, and the dreaded \u201cMystery Pie\u201d)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>1:00 PM: Tractor Pull Competition (classes for stock, modified, and the ridiculous \u201cBig Tire\u201d class)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>4:00 PM: <strong>Cow Patty Bingo<\/strong> on the baseball field (yes, it\u2019s exactly what you think)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>7:00 PM: Bonfire, s\u2019mores, and storytelling with Old Man Harlan (town\u2019s 92-year-old farmer who still drives his 1948 Ford)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>8:30 PM: Fireworks over the cornfields<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Sunday \u2013 Family &amp; Faith Day<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Morning church service at the outdoor pavilion (hay bales for pews)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>11:00 AM: Best Scarecrow Contest judging<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Afternoon: Horse-drawn hayrides, cider pressing demo, and a \u201cGuess the Pumpkin Weight\u201d booth<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>5:00 PM: Closing \u201cThank You Farmers\u201d ceremony with free ice cream for everyone<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Special Touches<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Every ticket includes a free \u201cI Survived the Willow Creek Corn Maze\u201d sticker<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Local 4-H kids get free admission if they bring something they grew<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cash-only food vendors (because the town still runs that way)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Designated \u201cDesignated Driver\u201d horse &amp; buggy service back to the campground<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Theme: \u201cFrom Dirt to Dancefloor\u201d \u201cCelebrating the last big harvest before the frost hits \u2014 one pie, one tractor pull, and one two-step at a time.\u201d Friday Night \u2013 Kickoff Saturday \u2013 Full Farm Frenzy Sunday \u2013 Family &amp; Faith Day Special Touches<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":164,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/monticelloiowaheritagecenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/monticelloiowaheritagecenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/monticelloiowaheritagecenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monticelloiowaheritagecenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monticelloiowaheritagecenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=160"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/monticelloiowaheritagecenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":165,"href":"https:\/\/monticelloiowaheritagecenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160\/revisions\/165"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monticelloiowaheritagecenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/monticelloiowaheritagecenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monticelloiowaheritagecenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/monticelloiowaheritagecenter.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}