Labor Day has come and gone and hints of fall are creeping into the days. And in Missouri, late summer and early autumn festivals are lining up, including Fall Fun Festival on the Prairie. Slated for …
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Labor Day has come and gone and hints of fall are creeping into the days. And in Missouri, late summer and early autumn festivals are lining up, including Fall Fun Festival on the Prairie. Slated for Saturday, Sept. 25 in Bowling Green, the festival is one of the highlights for the host business, Prairie’s Edge.
Introduced in 2020, the first edition was a resounding success. And the business’s owner, Tonya Teasley expects this year to be just as big.
“We had a fabulous turnout last year,” Teasley said.
The first edition saw about 40 vendors on the Prairie’s Edge grounds, and that’s the number anticipated in 2021, with food and crafts promising to be a big draw.
I'm really happy with the food selection we have this year,” Teasley said.
Food vendors include the Bowling Green Rotary selling Krispy Kreme donuts, Aloha Wood Fired Pizza, Spring Hollow Coffee, Ken's Catering and A Taste of Philly.
“We also have groups selling baked goods, popcorn, meat sticks, and trail mix as well as Big Gun Kettle Corn and The Sugar Shack,” she said.
Add to that crafts galore, a petting zoo, a corn maze and pumpkin patch, and the festival will be a can’t-miss. It will mark the grand opening of the maze and pumpkin patch - both of which will be open through Oct. 31.
Maze admission is $7, which includes the corn maze, hayride, straw maze, corn pit, tractor trikes and games under the pavilion. This year's corn maze theme is windmills.
“We will have checkpoints with fun facts about the history of windmills,” Teasley said.
Opened in 2007, Prairie’s Edge started with another fall favorite.
“We grew a lot of pumpkins just for fun and so we decided to try the corn maze and pumpkin patch,” Teasley said. “There weren't any very close at the time and as we discussed the year-round options.”
A greenhouse was added, offering vegetable plants and annuals. Back then, Prairie’s Edge even served lunch through the week. In the fall came the corn maze and pumpkin patch.
“After a few years we decided to stop serving lunch and focus on the gift and garden and greenhouse and the corn maze and pumpkins,” Teasley said. “And we have expanded a lot since that time”.
Today, Prairie’s Edge has three greenhouses and a large selection of vegetable plants, annuals, perennials, shrubs, pottery, garden decor and more.
“We grow about three acres of pumpkins and our corn maze changes design each year,” she said.
The festival will run from 9 a.m.-4 p.m, Sept. 25. For more on the event, check out the Prairie’s Edge Facebook page. Hours from Sept. 25 - Oct. 31 are Monday-Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday 1-4 p.m. The day of the festival there will be additional parking at the truck stop and the Bowling Green Convention and Visitor Center; there will be a shuttle service offering rides up to the festival once the Prairie’s Edge parking lot is full.