Saturday, October 6, marks LongSword Vineyard’s 4th-annual Harvest Festival featuring Pumpkin Chuckin’. This unique event provides a host of fun activities like pumpkin painting, live music, and, of course, imbibing delicious wine.

For the past three years, guests have also enjoyed hurling pumpkins into LongSword’s back field using giant slingshots. While LongSword’s slingshots are still available, this year brings a twist to the Pumpkin Chuckin’ part of the event. The gentlemen of the Sterling Creek Men’s Literary Appreciation Association (SCMLAA) have built a brand new trebuchet to toss those holiday gourds. Since Sanctuary One has graciously donated their trebuchet to the event, there may be dueling trebuchets!

All proceeds will be donated to the Siskiyou Upland Trails Association (SUTA), the volunteer organization that maintains the Sterling Mine Ditch Trail and is building and maintaining the new Jack Ash Trail. SUTA’s mission is to ensure the availability of local hiking, biking and equestrian trails for generations to come.

The trebuchet, a counterweight-powered catapult, stands a whopping 16 feet high and is capable of hurling a modest sized pumpkin 100 yards. Prizes will be awarded for the most accurate and longest flings, as well as most creatively decorated projectile.

The Fall Festival event showcases the most recent vintages of LongSword’s small-batch, creative wines, which can be sampled at the tasting room for $5. There will be live music from Sweet Grass Original Roots Music between 1:00pm and 4:00pm, and local favorite food truck Wok Star will be on site, as well. LongSword is generously supplying paint and supplies for the kids (and adults) to decorate their pumpkins.

This free, family-friendly event runs from noon to 5:00pm at LongSword Vineyard, 8555 Highway 238, just west of Ruch. Come support a great organization working to maintain recreational opportunities here in our area, and have some fun doing it! Spending a day in the lovely Applegate Valley listening to music, enjoying good wine, flinging pumpkins, being with family and friends is always a good day. See you there!