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Annual Paris festival offers fun for all ages
By Connie Beard
Published October 23, 2009
The Festival of Pumpkins brings people from all over Texas into Paris for a full day of fun, games, shopping, pet parades, haunted houses, entertainment and a whole bevy of booths.
Activities begin at 9 a.m. and continue throughout the day. The streets surrounding the Plaza will be closed to vehicle traffic and, instead, will be turned into the venue for the annual Festival of Pumpkins.
In addition to all the traditional activities, organizers have added a Blue Ribbon Pumpkin Baking Contest. Pumpkin creations should be brought by the downtown Lamar County Chamber of Commerce office at 8 West Plaza by 6 p.m. tonight. Judging begins at 6:30 p.m. and winners will be announced for the four divisions — dessert, main course, breads and miscellaneous/other — during the Saturday festivities.
One other event will bring additional action to the day as the Great Pumpkin Rally finishes its road race from Rockwall to Paris between 1 and 2 p.m. Saturday.
“When we heard about the Festival of Pumpkins, we thought the rally would be a great way to both attract attention to the Roxton Rallye de Paris for this year, as the rally goes right through Roxton. It also gives the entrants of the rally something to do while the scores are being tabulated. It will raise the awareness of the City of Paris within the DFW area,” said Richard Miller, rally master for the Sports Car Club of America.
Approximately 20 cars are expected to enter the race, leaving Rockwall at 9 a.m. and taking a leisurely 120-mile trek to Paris.
“A road rally is not like the ‘Fast and Furious’ movies, nor is it like the ‘Cannonball’ movies, either,” Miller said. “It is a contest of logic while driving a car. All rules of the road must be followed.”
Participants in a road rally are required to drive at a normal speed. The rally master creates a course drivers must follow by using mileage instructions and answering questions based on observations along the route.
Two cars from the rally will be parked at the festival, and the public is invited to join in celebrating the arrival of the racers.
The Sports Car Club of America is to hold its annual Rallye de Paris the day after Thanksgiving, with performance races on the county roads near Roxton.
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