Sarah Bartlett, director of Ellis Planetarium Health and Science Museum, stands with trophies that will be given to winners of the pie contest at the Harvest Festival at Pearson Park. Submitted photo.

By Janet Sutton

There's a new festival coming to downtown Kinston. Lenoir County Parks and Recreation's Neuseway Nature Park will launch the inaugural Harvest Festival on Saturday, Nov. 23 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Pearson Park on Gordon Street.

Herritage Street to the banks of the Neuse River will be loaded with goodies and free activities as the Harvest Festival runs simultaneously with Super Saturday at the Lenoir County Farmer's Market. Chefs Vivian Howard and Leraine Howard Tolston will present cooking demos starting at 11 a.m. and merchants will be selling fresh produce, wreaths and other goods until 2 p.m.

Sarah Bartlett, director of the Ellis Planetarium Health and Science Museum, thought Pearson Park would be a great location for the event and created the festival to bring people together around the holidays.

"I also find it important to spend the food holidays together with those that we are close with and who else are we closest with - our community as well," Bartlett said.

Bartlett wants to express the feeling of thankfulness with food and fun. The Harvest Festival festivities include "Flimsy Da Clown" and The Fun Zone, a pastry truck, hay rides, Thanksgiving turkey raffle and fall themed crafts led by members of Lenoir County Girl Scouts and more.

The festival is also having a pie competition, giving 10 home chefs the chance to compete for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place trophies and certificates for their tastiest pie. Each person can enter one pie for a $10 entry fee and pies will be judged by a selection of professionals and community leaders; payment and forms are due by Friday, at 5:00 p.m. and entries can be taken to planetarium. Judges for the contest are Scott Alston with Parks and Recreation, Christopher Thames, winner of Food Networks series Chopped and Brent Riggs, manager of Chef and the Farmer, to name a few.