The Bear City Fall Festival will bring vendors, food, live entertainment and two brand-new competitions to downtown Willow Springs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Oct. 3.
Festival organizers recently announced the addition of the Bear-B-Que Smoked Meats Contest and the Bear City Blow-Up Race, which were designed to increase community participation and excitement.
Sponsored by WPH Ranch, the Bear-B-Que competition will feature six categories: beef brisket, beef ribs, pulled pork, pork ribs, chicken wings and chicken quarters. Competitors can enter for $5 per category, with all collected entry fees paid back as cash prizes to the Overall Bear-B-Que Grand Champion and Reserve Champion. Entries must be brought to the designated drop-off area by 10 a.m. for blind judging.
"We wanted to make this contest simple and fun," festival organizers said in a press release. "If you think you can smoke some meat, we want you to bring it and see how you stack up.”
The Willow Springs Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring the second new addition, the Bear City Blow-Up Race. Starting at 1 p.m. at the Center Street Event Area, participants wearing inflatable costumes will navigate a timed obstacle course set up on a city street. Entry for the race is $5.
"It's going to be one of those events where we aren't quite sure who is going to have more fun, the people racing or the people watching," said Chamber Executive Director Kim McCormick.
In addition to the new events, the festival will feature its traditional lineup of long-standing competitions, including the Quilt Contest sponsored by the Willow Springs Church of Christ Ladies, the Bearly Baked Pie Contest sponsored by Pie.ology.missouri, the Shelter Big Shot Contest sponsored by Robert Hollis Shelter Insurance and the Chili Cook-off sponsored by G&W Foods.
For more information on the festival or to enter a contest, contact the Willow Springs Chamber of Commerce at 417-469-5519 or willowspringschamber@gmail.com.
