New Madrid will host Fall Festival, Twisted Cat Outdoors Tournament this weekend

NEW MADRID, Mo. — It is a celebration of fall and fish.

New Madrid will host its annual Fall Festival and the Twisted Cat Outdoors Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 5. The annual event features pageants, arts and craft vendors, food and fun.

Activities kick off Friday, Oct. 4 with a fish fry from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Knights of Columbus building. The event is sponsored by the New Madrid Pharmacy.

A plate includes three pieces of fish, hush puppies, fries, slaw, pickle/onion, dessert and a drink for $15 per person. Advanced tickets for dining in or carry out, are available at the New Madrid City Hall from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

On Saturday, the participants in the Twisted Cat Tourney will start their fishing early.

Main Street will be closed off to allow vendors to get ready to open at 9 a.m. Saturday. City Administrator Aaron Griffin said this year’s festival will feature more than 40 arts and crafts vendors as well as food booths.

Also registration will be from 9 a.m. until 10:15 a.m. for the Fall Festival Pageants, sponsored by the New Madrid Elementary PTO. The pageants begin at 10:30 a.m.

Boys up to age 2 will compete for Tiny Mister honors and those from 3-5 will vie for the title of Little Mister. Girls will compete in the Baby Miss Division for those up to 12 months, Tiny Miss for girls ages 13-24 months, Toddler Miss for girls ages 2-3 and Little Miss for girls ages 4-5.

Attire for these contests is Sunday best.

Formal wear is the attire for those competing for the title of Petite Miss for girls ages 6-8, Junior Miss for those girls ages 9-12,Teen Miss for those ages 13-15 and Miss for young women ages 16-18.

In each division, in addition to a winner, a first and second alternate will be crowned.

The cost to enter is $30. The cost for those also competing for the side awards of best dressed, prettiest smile and best personality is $40. Registration forms are available on the New Madrid Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook page or by contacting April Grissom at 573-521-6523.

Other activities throughout the day will include wagon rides, the opportunity to play in Funky Foam, a video game truck and pony rides.

The Nutrien Feeding the Future Car Show is 9 a.m. to noon on Main Street. Entry is $20 per car with prizes awarded for best in show, best paint, best interior and best engine.

A new addition to this year’s Fall Festival is a pumpkin pie eating contest sponsored by the Riverbend Pentecostals. At 2 p.m. Saturday, those taking part will try to eat as much pumpkin pie as they can in 10 minutes to earn bragging rights, a trophy and gift card. Entry fee is $10 per person.

The grand finale will be the weigh-in of catfish caught by participants in the Twisted Cat Tournament. Once again bleachers will be set up for viewers as the boats come in from the Mississippi River for the weigh-in in front of the Bank of New Madrid.

All fishing must cease by 3 p.m. and the weigh-in typically begins shortly after that. All participants in the Twisted Cat Contest must be in line no later than 4 p.m. for the weigh-in.

“We are very excited about this year’s Fall Festival,” said Griffin. “We hope to have a big crowd of families who will come to play some games, have some fun and stick around for catfish weigh-in.”