Coupeville’s annual cornucopia celebration, HarvestFest, spices up the Oct. 11-13 weekend. Central Whidbey says farewall to summer and hello to autumn in a weekend squashed full of fun. Catch the final day of the Farmers’ Market Saturday, Oct. 12. It’s the final day to get a last taste of great produce. The popular Scarecrow Corridor will be up with entries up and down Coupeville’s scenic streets. Gourd gardeners all hope their great pumpkins will squash the competition. A pumpkin pie contest will scent the air with nutmeg. Volkssporting has just been added with walks including a 10-kilometer walk through Coupeville; a 13-mile trek on Ebey’s Prairie and a walk that includes the Jenne Farm and on to Fort Casey. Sunday, activity centers at Sherman’s Pioneer Farm for Hubbard squash painting, squash hurling and Squash Cutting 101. But you can venture off the farm for the Central Whidbey bed and breakfasts Tours and Tastes. For more information about any of the HarvestFest festivities visit www.centralwhidbeychamber.com or call 678-5434.

Oct. 12 and 13

STRAW PEOPLE: The annual Scarecrow Corridor display will keep crows away and surely entertain between Front Street and Terry Road, also Front Street and Coveland. Many of the scarecrows entered in the Whidbey Island Scarecrow Contest are patiently standing by, hoping some nice people will capture them on film. Walking along Scarecrow Corridor is fun. The sturdier and more inventive scarecrows all manage to withstand the elements until the end of October. “Endurance” is a must for those contestants who really wanna win the prize money! So go snap a picture of yourself and your family with the scarecrows … just don’t pat ‘em on the back.

PHOTO SHOW: Whidbey Island photographer, Dan Karvasek, will present a one man photography show and sale in Coupeville Recreation Hall, Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Rec Hall is on Coveland in Coupeville’s historic district.

UNIQUE TRADE FAIR: At the local trade fair, about 25 percent of the 130 participants are crafters and other vendors who showcase and sell their wares. All vendors are from Whidbey Island, which is what makes it uniquely Whidbey. If handmade and holiday are already on your shopping list, visit the Uniquely Whidbey Trade Fair and Home Show on the Coupeville High School campus between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., both days. Start in the gymnasium at Main Street and Terry Road. Central Whidbey Chamber will have general and visitor information available.

Volkssporting

GET ON YOUR FEET: Several hundred people are expected to walk all over Coupeville this weekend as Volkssporting comes to Central Whidbey. Volkssporting, “sport of the people,” began in Europe in the 1960s. Volkssporting focuses on non-competitive, outdoor sport. All over Europe, weekends are filled with walks, hikes, bike rides, and in winter ice-skating and cross-country skiing.

Oct. 11, 12 and 13, three routes are set with four walks and one bike ride scheduled in Central Whidbey.

Curt Myron, trailmaster of NW Tulip Trekkers, has scouted and designed the routes. “I really like walking,” Myron says. “Sixteen years ago I did a Fourth of July walk at Fort Meade, Maryland,” he said. “After a two-hour walk, I took a three-hour nap.” Myron says in the last 16 years he and his wife have trekked more than 400 walks in 38 states and nine countries.

NW Tulip Trekkers covers Skagit, Snohomish, Whatcom and Island counties. Myron says interest in the Coupeville walks has been strong in the club and in Coupeville. “The mayor and her entire staff have signed up to do a Friday Mayor’s Walk,” Myron says. Who will show up for the walks “depends lot on the weather.” But he emphasizes that walkers will get to see parts of Central Whidbey not usually open. “We will be walking through woods, fields and lots of private property,” he says. “People will get to see scenery and our history from Coupeville’s Sunnyside Cemetery to Admiralty Head Lighthouse. And in the process get some exercise.”

Walks begin at Coupeville Elementary School. Friday’s 10K walk begins at 4 p.m. On Saturday and Sunday, wander the waysides of Central Whidbey on an 11K ramble. These walks begin at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday; 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Sunday. A 21K hike starts at 8 a.m. and noon Saturday or 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. Sunday. Go to www.nwtrekkers.org

Oct. 12 only – ‘Pumpkin Day’

HARVEST TUNES: The Basics – a HarvestFest Concert, will be at 10 a.m., at the Coupeville Library. Join library for an exciting program filled with songs, stories, music and movement. Local favorites, Vern and Karl Olsen share their 60 collective years of music experience to kick off the HarvestFest. Funding provided by the Friends of the Coupeville Library. All ages.

FARMERS MARKET: Come to the closing day of the Coupeville Farmers Market, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the corner of 8th and Main Street. Harvest Day fun includes a bicycle raffle for kids, pumpkin carving, pumpkin painting, zuccini races and many other kids activities. Entertainment day will be provided by folk and blues musician Phil Sheridan.

GROW BIG: The Giant Pumpkin Contest Weigh-in and awarding of prizes will be at 12:30 p.m. Bring a pumpkin pie by 12:30 p.m. for on-the-spot judging of the Pumpkin Pie Contest immediately following the Weigh-in (All pies eligible). Everything pumpkin is on the lawn of Coupeville High gymnasium building at Main and Terry.

GARLIC PIES: Count Dracula will avoid them, but you shouldn’t. Check out the Garlic Races (free) with prizes, all day. Plus the Apple Pie Contest judging is at 2 p.m. Want to enter an apple pie? It has to be entered by 1 p.m. Everything garlic and apple is on the grounds of RoseHip, 338 Fort Casey Road.

Oct. 13 – Hubbard squash Day

There’s a lot going on at Sherman’s Pioneer Farm, corner of Terry Road & Ebey from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (or later if weather permits). Take “Squash Cutting 101” with Dale Sherman, Hubbard squash scholar and farmer. Pumpkins and Hubbard squash are also available for purchase. Wagon tours of Ebey’s Prairie are at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., for a nominal fee. The tour is just about one hour long. “Huge Hubb” – the (Hubbard) squash painting contest for kids of all ages is free. You can paint at any time between 11a.m. and 3 p.m. Prizes for kids. A trebuchet has been constructed that will give all a chance to hurl a hefty Hubbard out into the pasture. Splat! Makes it easier for Sherman’s cows to eat the squash. We provide the hubbard squash, you provide the manpower. Nominal fee for each try. Prize at end of day for longest toss. Don’t miss the “Pie and a Try” – a slice of homemade pie with coffee or cider plus one Squash Toss for a bargain price. Enter Sherman’s Pioneer Farm driveway at the corner of Terry Road and Ebey Road – just down the street from the Gymnasium. You can’t miss it because this driveway is surrounded by Dale’s Frontyard Farm Equipment Museum.

B&B TOUR: It’s your lucky year! Only held every three years, 10 lodgings in Greenbank, Coupeville and San de Fuca are featured on Central Whidbey’s Bed and Breakfast Tour and Tastes, from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is by paid ticket only. If not sold out in advance, tickets will be available Saturday at the Central Whidbey Chamber of Commerce booth (No. 108) at the Uniquely Whidbey Trade Fair and Home Show. Tickets are $15 each, and ticket holders completing the tour are eligible to enter a free drawing for a two-night stay at the lodging of their choice, compliments of the Central Whidbey chamber of Commerce. Visit www.centralwhidbeychamber.com or call 678-5434.