Sophie Gutierrez stops for a moment for a photo opportunity before running off for some fresh squeezed lemonade. (The Hesperian-Beacon/Teresa Bigham)
A grandfather making the best memories with his grandson at the roping event held after the day-long Punkin’ Days events. (The Hesperian-Beacon/Teresa Bigham)
By Teresa Bigham/The Hesperian-Beacon—
FLOYDADA – The 33rd annual Punkin’ Days is in the books. Attendees had a fun-filled day seeing what all the buzz is about surrounding Floydada’s famous pumpkins.
Dozens of vendors arrived early, some before sunup, to find their spaces and set up. Events kicked off at 10 a.m. and carried on strong throughout the whole day.
The Doggy Dance Show returned again this year and provided a lot of entertainment. They were a huge hit with the crowd. The daytime activities kept “The Square” as busy as its ever been.
The evening events at the rodeo grounds had record attendance as well. The large lot was lined wall to wall with cars. Everybody enjoyed watching the county and open team roping. The crowd danced the night away to Tanner Lane and Jason Nutt and HWY 70 while enjoying delicious food from Kurbside Eatz.
The Floydada Chamber of Commerce planned for many months and worked countless hours to bring the best Punkin’ Days to Floydada and was excited about the turn out.
All of this could not have been possible without the sponsors.
First National Bank of Floydada was the official event sponsor.
Probasco Flying Services sponsored the Car Show, Poole Well Service sponsored the BBQ and Chili cook off, and Pumpkin Pyle sponsored the all-ages costume contest.
Punkin’ Days had a special guest, Congressman Jodey Arrington along with his wife, Ann and his children, Nathan, Mary Jane and Hank, as well as members of his staff. Arrington helped Tim Assiter with the auction and the pumpkin pie eating contest and he assisted with auctioning off a United States flag that had flown over the capitol building. He also addressed the crowd.
Also visiting Punkin’ Days was the Texas Tech Track and Field team members.
However, don’t forget the star of the show – the Floyd County-grown pumpkins. All the pumpkins at the “Y,” lining the square, the pumpkin games, the Big Maxx pumpkins that were auction off and all the pumpkins on the trailers were donated by Pumpkin Pyle and Assiter Punkin Ranch and Pumpkin Patch.
Officials extended a big thank you to Covered S Farms and Assiter Ag-Risk for sponsoring the team roping.
The Texas Tech Credit Union also sponsored the Cow Patty Bingo this year. As always participants were able to purchase $5 tickets for a chance to see if the patty would end up on their square. This year’s winners were Gabriel Juarez, first place, winning $300, Baron Mastas in second winning $200 and Cathy Graham in third winning $100.
There were many other contests going on throughout day. Here are the results that were available from those events:
Pumpkin Pie Eating Contest: Three-time winner, Hunter Smith
People’s Choice Car: Hugh Massey Abernathy, Tx – 1954 Ford F100; Second place – Cason Ginn-2001 Chevy S10 – Hale Center, Tx.; Third place – Robert Kelly – 1915 Model T Ford – Lubbock, Tx
Traveled the Furthest: Richard Zamara – River Road.
BBQ Cookoff: Ribs: First place – Landon Lackey, Second place – Martin Suarez
Brisket: First place – William Baldwin, Second place – Martin Sauarez, Third place – Landon Lackey
Chicken: First place – Landon Lackey, Second place – Juan Garza
Chili Cookoff: First place – Randall Simms; Second place – Cristic Baldwin
The Texas Tech Track and Field team members joined in on the fun Saturday during Punkin’ Days. (Photo by Floydada Chamber)
Punkin’ Day and the days leading up to it also involved competitions for Best Decorated Homes and Best Decorated Businesses.
In the business category, the Texas Tech Credit Union took the first-place spot winning $50; Script Printing, Inc. took second place winning $25; and the decorations in front of the City of Floydada took third place winning $10.
In the residential category, the home located at 915 S. Main Street took first place winning $50; the home located at 623 W. Virginia Street took second winning $25; and the home at 105 S. 11th Street took the third spot and won $10. All of the decorated businesses and homes added greatly to the fun of the season.
To wrap up Saturday’s results from the Chamber of Commerce booth, Kalli Olivares won the “Guess the Number of Pumpkin Candies in the Jar” and Joshua Abernathy won at “Guess the Number of Seeds in the Jar”. The winner of the “Guess the Weight of the Pumpkin Trailer” was Jimmy Nichols. Each contestant won a cash prize of $25.
The Floydada Chamber of Commerce said it would like to thank all the visiting and local exhibitors, sponsors, the volunteers that stepped in to help, the citizens and guests to our great community that participated in the events, all of which helped make this 33rd Annual Punkin’ Days celebration a huge success! Without all of you Punkin’ Days would not be possible.
“We at the Floydada Chamber of Commerce look forward to working hard each and every year to make the Punkin’ Days Celebration one that celebrates our community and the people who live in it,” chamber officials said.
Next year’s celebration will be the second Saturday of October 2021.
