'Gourd'geous festival planned

The first annual gourd festival, “A ‘Gourd’geous Day in the Country,” will be held Saturday, Sept. 27, two miles north of Orion.

Whispering Winds Ranch, 3316 N. 1600 Avenue, will host the festival from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., rain or shine. Parking, admission and events will be free.

The Quad City Area Gourd Patch Club is sponsoring the festival.

Visitors will be able to make gourd projects and take them home. Children are invited to have their faces painted and to play games.

Gourds will be displayed, and a tour of gourds will be offered.

The festival will give people a chance to learn the history of gourds.

Demonstrations and classes will provide information on gourd growing, safety, crafting and other topics.

Vendors will have jewelry, birdhouses, home decor and other items made from gourds.

“Barb’s Garden” will sell cookies, bars and other treats, and Orion Lions Club will have a lunch stand.

Fall backdrops will be offered for family photos.

Radish Magazine is featuring the   festival in its September issue, and Radish staff will have a booth at Whispering Winds.

To promote the festival, Michael Woods, University of Illinois Extension, Rock Island County, will appear on “Paula Sands Live,” KWQC TV, during the week of Monday, Sept. 22.

Flyers about “A ‘Gourd’geous Day in the Country” will be available during Orion Fall Festival.