PRINCETON -- The Princeton-Mercer County Chamber of Commerce has announced the winners of the AutumnFest Scarecrow Contest held throughout the month of September and also the winners of the inaugural Princeton AutumnFest "Great Pumpkin Cook-off" and the Pumpkin Pie Eating Contest held Saturday, September 29 during the 7th annual Princeton AutumnFest festivities.
The chamber and the AutumnFest committee would like to thank everyone who participated.
In the Scarecrow contest, Princeton Health & Fitness Center raised the most money for charity with $183.50. The winner of the penny vote portion of the competition wins the right to designate the charity that receives the proceeds from all of the competing scarecrows. With nearly $1,000 raised by all the scarecrows, Princeton Health & Fitness Center elected to split the funds between two nonprofit organizations: the Jonathan Powell Foundation and Emma's Touch.
City National Bank's scarecrow prevailed in the Judges' Choice portion of the competition.
In the Great Pumpkin Cook-off, individuals competed in three categories: Appetizers, Breads, and Desserts.
Winners in the Individual competition won the following prizes in each category:
- $100 - 1st place
- $50 - 2nd place
- $25 - 3rd place
There was one all around open Business category eligible for a single prize consisting of $250 worth of advertising.
Individual winners were:
Appetizers:
- #1 Anita Hill of Princeton, Pumpkin Chili Dip
- #2 Brenda Jenkins of Princeton, Pumpkin Dip
- #3 Missy Pentasuglia of Princeton, Pumpkin Ravoli
Breads:
- #1 Cecilia Blankenship of Bluefield, Chocolate Chip Walnut Pumpkin Muffins
- #2 Missy Pentasuglia of Princeton, Autumn Pumpkin Spice Bread
- #3 Brenda Jenkins, hometown unknown, Pull Apart Pumpkin Bread
Desserts:
- #1 Sandy Hager of Lerona, Rich Pumpkin Cheesecake
- #2 Catherine Turner of North Tazewell, Pumpkin Cupcakes with spiced cream cheese frosting
- #3 Mary Jo White of Princeton, Pumpkin Cake
- Business Winner: First Century Bank with GG's Pumpkin Cheesecake with Carmel Swirl
In the Pumpkin Pie Eating Contest, four local celebrities competed in the opening round, each downing a whole pie slathered with whipped cream, using only their facial dexterity and sheer determination. The celebrity contestants were Fox 59 Anchor Marrily McAuliffe, WVVA Reporter Rachael Lucas, Concord University Advancement Office PR Specialist Lance McDaniel, and Weightlifting Champion and Celebrity Wrestler Chris McKinney. All the above are Concord alumni.
The winner was Chris McKinney.
After the celebrity round, the contest was opened up to bystanders and a great time was had by all.
