Menu
Fall Festival features fishing, food, pageants and fun
NEW MADRID, Mo.—For those casting about for some fall fun, New Madrid’s annual Fall Festival and Twisted Cat Competition will reel them in.
Kicking off the celebration is a fish fry hosted by the New Madrid Chamber of Commerce. From 5-7 p.m. Sept. 30 at the Mill Street Community Building, volunteers will serve catfish and all the trimmings. The cost is $10 per plate.
On Oct. 1, the events start with the opportunity for youngsters to try their skills at fishing and end with some of the Midwest’s top anglers showing off the biggest catfish they can pull from the Mississippi River.
Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. Saturday for the youth fishing rodeo at the city pond off of Highway WW. Children from 2 to 16 years of age can compete in the free fishing contest set for 8-10 a.m.
Sponsored by the Riverbend Ducks Unlimited Chapter along with H&R Block and Southeast Health, the first 60 youth to register will receive a free fishing pole. Those ages 2-14 must be accompanied by adults and all participants should bring their own bait. Additional prizes will be awarded at the end of the fishing rodeo.
Laura McVey with the Riverbend Ducks Unlimited Chapter describes the youth fishing rodeo as a great opportunity for youngsters and a way for families to spend some time enjoying the outdoors.
“We see kids tied up with their electronics all the time but if we can expose them to the joys they can experience outside by doing things like fishing, it gets them thinking about conservation and nature,” she said. “And it’s certainly easy to dovetail this with the big fishing tournament.”
She estimated participants will land some 150 to 200 pounds of fish or more during the two-hour event.
While the youth fishing rodeo is underway, activities will start along Main Street. New Madrid Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Christina McWaters said this year’s event includes many free family activities and a large array of vendors offering arts and crafts items, baked goods, jams and even cotton candy.
The Lazy L. Safari Park walk-thru zoo will be set up and thanks to sponsorship by the Bank of New Madrid will be free for visitors. Anderson and Green Insurance is sponsoring the mini-golf enabling the public to play at no charge during the Festival. Also there will be free wagon rides hosted by Riverbend Ag along Main Street and visits by the Disney characters, Woody, Jessie and Elsa.
TSC SkillsUSA New Madrid will host a car show with registration beginning at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 1
Entry fee is $20 per vehicle.
The vehicle categories are Stock - 1959 and earlier, Stock - 1960 and later, Modified - 1959 and earlier, Modified - 1960 and later, Best of the Show - 1959 earlier tractor or cycle, and Best of Show - 1960 and later tractor or cycle.
Those who preregister before Oct. 1 will receive a $5 discount on the registration fee. To register text Gloria Houston at 573-521-9022 or email ghouston@nmcr1.org.
All proceeds from the event will be donated to charity.
Entry forms are now available for the 2022 Mr. and Miss New Madrid Fall Festival Pageants on the stage at the Veterans Park in downtown New Madrid.
Pageants will begin with the Baby Mr. Fall Festival for newborn to 11 month old boys at 11 a.m. Oct. 1 then the Toddler Mr. Fall Festival at 11:15 a.m. for boys ages 12-23 months. At 11:30 a.m. will be the Baby Miss contest for newborn to 11 month old girls and the Toddler Miss contest for girls ages 12 to 23 months is set for 11:45 a.m.
Beginning at noon will be the Tiny Miss (girls ages 2-3); at 12:30 p.m., Petite Miss (girls ages 4-6); at 12:45 p.m., Little Miss (girls ages 7-8); at 1 p.m. Junior Miss (girls ages 9-11); at 1:15 p.m. Teen Miss (girls ages 12-15); and at 1:30 p.m., Miss New Madrid Fall Festival (girls ages 16-19).
The entry fee is $30 for those who pre-register. Forms to pre-register are available on the New Madrid Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook page.
The day of the pageant the entry fee will be $35, cash only. Registration will be from 9:45-10:45 a.m.
Attire for the pageant will be Sunday best or pageant wear for those up to age 3 and for those ages 4 and up, the attire is party dress or formal/pageant wear.
For more information or to register contact Courtney Frazier at 573-820-4615.
There will be plenty to eat while the public takes part in the activities. According to McWaters, the winners of the Chamber’s barbecue competition in 2021, the Mini-Farm Mafia, will be cooking. The local fire department and Hope Exchange will have stands as well.
Between 2:30 and 3 p.m., the participants in the Twisted Cat fishing competition begin returning from their day of fishing. Once again bleachers will be set up in front of the Bank of New Madrid to enable the public to watch as each team’s three biggest fish are weighed-in.
According to tournament director Alex Nagy, some 50 to 60 teams from 10 to 12 different states will take part in the New Madrid Tournament. Some of the participants will include Bill Dance, Charles “Big Cat” Blair, and Jason and Daryl Massingale.
“The water is looking good for a big fish weigh-in,” Nagy said. “There is a lot of good fishing in that area.” Nagy said the tournament is open to anyone. For more information he can be reached at 573-723-2127 or through his Web site, twistedcatoutdoors.com.
Both Nagy and McWaters noted that the city of New Madrid employees are a big help throughout the festival from the set-up to the tear-down. City employees also assist in the weigh-in by moving the catfish, which are brought in live by the fishermen, from a holding tank back to the Mississippi River.
Added McWaters, “The Fall Festival is just a nice, fun way to spend the day with family and friends.”
Any business which would like to sponsor an event or those who would like to set up a booth can contact McWaters by calling 573-748-5300 or emailing her at chambernm@yahoo.com.