Call for Hay Dayz contestants

Published 1:02 am Saturday, September 3, 2011

Hay Dayz second installment is just a week away and the Demopolis Area Chamber of Commerce and the City Schools Foundation are hard at work putting on the finishing touches.

Hay Dayz will kick off Sept. 10 riverside at the city landing.

There is still time to enter one of the many contests, which include hay bale art, watermelon seed spitting, animal noises, corn dog eating and pie baking.

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“As of right now, we have two entrants in the hay bale art contest,” Demopolis Chamber Director Jenn Tate said of the event’s signature attraction. “You can register the day of but we would really prefer that people pre-register so we know how many hay bales to have. If you come down Saturday, we may or may not have enough hay and those that are pre-registered will have priority.”

The hay bale contest will begin at 10 a.m. and run through noon. Entry fee is $10 and participants are only allowed to use $10 worth of items in decorating their hay bale.

The prize for first place is $200. Second place award is $100 and $50 for third.

Prizes for the animal noise contest include a toy for the age group three to eight; a GameStop gift card for age group nine to 12 and a Verizon gift card for the two oldest groups.

The winner of the adult division in the corndog eating contest will be awarded a grill. The winner in the kid’s division will win an iPod.

A $25 gift certificate to Vowell’s is up for grabs in both divisions of the pie-baking contest and the adult winner of the watermelon seed spitting contest in the kid’s division will win a toy while the winning adult will be awarded a grill.

As HD-Day approaches, one slight change has been made to the lineup.

“There were some last-minute scheduling problems, so we don’t expect the carnival rides and games this year,” Tate said, adding that the Chamber was working to secure a replacement. “But to me, the rides aren’t what make Hay Hayz. It’s the fun, the contests and being down on the water.”

The event will still feature inflatables, a rock climbing wall and a bungee trampoline among other things.

The DCSF portion of the event will feature local vendors with homemade foods as well as local entertainment throughout the day leading up to a talent show scheduled to start at 5 p.m. Gates for the DCSF portion of the event are scheduled to open at 9 a.m. There will be no charge for entering the George Franks Field during the day. Admission for the Talent Show is $5 for those 12 and over.