This weekend is the final weekend of the Fall Festival at the Great Pumpkin Farm in Clarence but, as with every other weekend, there’s no shortage of fun! On Saturday, October 28 and Sunday, October 29, the annual costume contest will take place, with prizes being awarded for Cutest Costume, Scariest Costume and Most Creative Costume. At 1:30 p.m. both days, prizes will be awarded in the ages 0-6 and 7-16 categories; at 4:00 p.m., prizes will be awarded in the ages 17 and up category.

And – BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND! – Vinnie and Dino, the animatronic dinosaurs, will roam the corn maze from noon until 4:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, looking for prey!

Girl Scouts of Western New York will be at the Fall Festival both days with FREE craft projects and information on joining the organization.

As with every weekend at the Fall Festival, there’s something for everyone, including the corn maze, hay maze, magic show, Boo Barn, amusement rides and more. Guests can also purchase pumpkins, gourds, mums and cornstalks and visit the bakery for freshly baked pies, cookies, pastries, candy and cider.

Area high school technology teams have been working for weeks to design and build trebuchets (pronounced treb-yeh-SHETs) to compete in this weekend’s annual Pumpkin Catapult Contest, as part of The Great Pumpkin Farm’s Fall Festival. Fifteen teams from 13 area schools are scheduled to compete for distance and accuracy and with enough precision to win cash prizes for their schools and prestige for their teams.

Practice shots take place on Saturday, October 21 and the competition starts at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, October 22, with winners being announced at approximately 4:00 p.m.*

High school teams competing this year on Sunday include:

• Buffalo Academy of Science
• Clarence High School
• Depew High School
• Forestville Central School District
• Genesee Valley Central
• Hamburg Central
• Harkness Career & Technical Center (2 teams)
• Henrietta G. Lewis Campus School
• Holland Central
• North Tonawanda High School
• Oakfield Alabama Central School District (2 teams)
• Pioneer High School
• Williamsville South High School

A trebuchet is a slingshot-like weapon used in medieval siege warfare that relies only on counterweight – no springs, motors, or agents like gun powder – to hurl large stones or other missiles. In this competition, pumpkins are the “missiles.”

Teams are required to design, build and test their trebuchet using knowledge learned in math, science and technology courses. Trebuchets must be constructed only of wood and the hardware necessary for assembly; no other materials can be used, except for reinforcement of gussets and load-bearing areas, and trebuchets must meet requirements set forth by the rules of the contest.

Cash prizes are awarded for the longest distance shot, highest total combined shots and for “storming the castle”(hitting a target 150 feet away).  All teams receive a plaque for participating.

Students from Depew High School took two of the top three honors last year: Longest Single Throw (483 feet) and Combined Throws (total of 1,396 feet). Nichols School took the Storming the Castle trophy.