Pumpkin Bagel Fest features fundraising, ‘bagel chunking fun’

Many know what pumpkin chunking is—the act of turning a pumpkin into a projectile, but few have seen it done with a bagel. Yes, those round doughy breakfast items will be flung on Saturday, October 18, at the Pumpkin Bagel Fest.

The event, coordinated by Hot Bagel Company, will be held in the Manhattan Place (Food City) parking lot in Oak Ridge from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Participants must create their own catapult to compete for distance and target. Entries from local Boy Scout troops and Lake City schools are expected, but additional entries are welcome.

“This is a great opportunity for the local community to get together and have some fun,” said Donna Sullivan of Hot Bagel Company. “It’s also a fantastic chance for all the talented local school kids to show their skills in creating mechanical devices to chunk bagels. We’ve had several schools tell us they are making it into a class project.”

Other activities at the Fest include a pumpkin pie eating contest, a bagel decorating booth, a pumpkin bagel parade, and a tri-bagelthon, where participants stack, roll, and throw bagels. Local vendors also will be on hand, and a dunking booth will be set up with all proceeds going to local nonprofit organizations. Dean Deatheredge of the Boys and Girls Club, Oak Ridge Council member Chuck Hope, members of the Fraternal Order of Police, Girls on the Run, and Crossroads will be in the booth, as well as event coordinator Sullivan.

For more information about the event or to submit your name to the list of bagel chunkers, contact (865) 482-2435.