Harvest Festival offers seasonal fun

Several people got lost between Plains and Thompson Falls last weekend, though they eventually found their way.

It was a corn maze and part of the 2nd Annual Harvest Festival held at the Waterway CSA Farm owned by Mark and Elizabeth Riffle just over 15 miles west of Plains along Highway 200.

It took the Riffles about 20 hours to construct the 60x100-square foot maze, which had field corn which ranged from four to seven feet high. "It's tiny, but you can get lost easily," said 10-year-old John McNamara of Plains. He was one of more than 800 people to visit the Harvest Fest and take part in the two-day event, most of which was free. Elizabeth Riffle said they wanted to give back to the community and also wanted to do something for her customers in the form of a season end party. She said it's also to give people an opportunity to see from where all the natural food comes.

"We enjoy tackling all kinds of things as a family. This event is the most fulfilling," said Elizabeth, who felt it was a very successful event. "I enjoy watching community members relax and enjoy each other's company," she said. The event had eight games, including a giant bouncy house, a bouncy house climbing wall, and a dozen other activities.

The Riffles put the Harvest Fest on Saturday and Sunday. The corn maze was one of Harvest Fest's new activities this year, along with a roping station and a train ride, which Elizabeth believes was a kid favorite. Riley Riffle, her son, was the driver of the eight-car passenger train, which was custom made of converted colored barrels driven by an ATV. They bought the "train cars" last year. They refurbished and repainted the cars and replaced air in the tires with foam to make for a smoother ride. While Mark drove the hayride tractor to and from the corn maze, their son, Tyler, manned the maze. "All the kids seemed to enjoy it. We had a couple kids dive through the edges of the corn to get to their parents when they got lost," said Tyler. Countless future little cowpokes tried their hand at roping a dummy calf, though a few adults tried, but most had the same bad aim.

The Harvest Fest activities covered about two of the farm's 76 acres and went for about six hours Saturday and nearly five hours on Sunday. The Riffles had about 300 more people than last year. This year's bouncy house had a bouncy climbing wall attached. They also set up a checker station and a tic-tac-toe game with small pumpkins. "It's a lot of work, but I love seeing everyone having so much fun," said Elizabeth.

New this year included a "Feed the Pig" game where kids could toss bean bags through the pigs' mouths. They also had a new board "How Tall Are You," which was designed by Bruce Beckstead, his wife, Carissa McNamara, son, John, and Carissa's mother, Karrie Baldwin.

People could also buy baked goods, hot dogs, caramel apples, popcorn balls, chili and cornbread, and drinks. They also had pumpkins for sale. In addition, Kassy Moore of Trout Creek set up a booth of her MT Wild Roots microgreens products.

"We hope to get better and better each year," said Elizabeth, who also wants to keep it with a small town feel.