Clayton Harvest Festival turns 75: four days downtown

Clayton's autumn tradition is hitting a big milestone this week. The Clayton Harvest Festival turns 75, and it's taking over downtown Clayton for four days, from Thursday, October 22 to Sunday, October 25. The festival has been running since 1951, put on by the Clayton Chamber of Commerce, and it now pulls in more than 30,000 visitors. The best part is that it's free to the public, so you can drop in whenever it suits you.

The whole thing is split between two downtown plazas: Horne Square at 348 E. Main St. and Town Square at 100 W Main St. Thursday kicks things off with a ribbon cutting at Horne Square at 5:00 p.m., followed by midway carnival rides and games that run until 10:00 p.m., with live music and food trucks going all day over at Town Square. Friday leans into family night, with trick-or-treating from 5:00 to 6:30, a children's entrepreneur market, and a screening of "The Bad Guys 2" from 6:30 to 8:30. There's also a Boo Bash at the Clayton Community Center on Amelia Church Road, a free Halloween party and trunk-or-treat for participants with special needs.

Saturday is the big day. Main Street closes to vehicles from 5:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and the vendor fair takes over the street from 10:00 to 5:00 — it's the largest part of the festival, with around 300 vendors. At the same time, you'll find the Harvest Festival Car Show with muscle, classic and custom cars, the International Harvesters Tractor Show, a Harley-Davidson ride-in, pony rides from Bar H Ranch and a kids' village on North Lombard Street. At noon, Clay Cowell sings the national anthem followed by a flyover, and the Town Square stage keeps running music from Kason Lambert in the morning through Aaron Hamm and The Big River Band in the afternoon. The midway runs through the evening, and a free bus shuttles people from The Church at Clayton Crossings every 15 minutes between 10:00 and 5:00.

Sunday winds things down with the sixth annual Latin American Festival in Town Square from noon to 5:00, presented by Compare Foods and sponsored by Johnston Community College, while the midway at Horne Square keeps going until 9:00 p.m. If you're hungry, the food truck lineup includes Redneck BBQ Lab, The Peach Cobbler Factory and Waffle Wagon.

One thing worth a look while you're downtown is the Sculpture Trail. Six of 15 sculptures are on display across the two squares, chosen from 86 proposals by 30 artists from 10 states, and they stay put until March 2027. You can vote for the People's Choice Award, which comes with a $1,000 prize. In Horne Square you'll find Reluctant Prism by Harry McDaniel, Scorpius by Lawrence Feir, Inner Muse by Laura Teste and Pollinator by Kirk Seese; over at Town Square there's Key Hole Flutter Arch by Jim Gallucci and Vuida by Joni Younkins-Herzog.

And if you can't make it this week, the tradition carries on: Main Street Trick-or-Treat is set for October 30 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. in Horne Square. Between the 75th anniversary and the fall events that follow, downtown Clayton is the place to be for the next couple of weeks.