JOYCE — The 42nd Joyce Daze Wild Blackberry Festival is set for Saturday at a variety of locations in downtown Joyce.
Festivities will kick off with a pancake breakfast from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Crescent Grange and finish after the 3 p.m. raffle and button drawing.
This year’s festivities will include a salmon bake hosted by the Crescent Bay Lions Club from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Mini-Mall.
Other featured events include a blackberry pie contest, blackberry pie sales, vendor booths, kids activities, live music, the Grand Parade down state Highway 112 and the popular Extreme Slug Racing at 2:30 p.m. at the Family Kitchen Beer Garden.
Organizers anticipate more than 200 freshly baked pies, made with local wild blackberries, to be available for sale.
The pies, sliced into sixths, will be sold for $7 per slice, $8 each when topped with ice cream.
Whole pies, if any remain, will be sold after the parade.
Proceeds from pies sales benefit scholarships, community projects and equipment for the Joyce Fire Department.
Those who want to test their skills as a piemaker can enter the Wild Blackberry Pie Contest by dropping pies at the tent next to the Joyce Depot Museum before 11 a.m. The youth category is for bakers ages 10-17. Complete rules are posted at www.joycedaze.org.
Local bands will be featured throughout the day starting at 10 a.m. in front of the Joyce Museum.
The Extreme Slug Races at the Family Kitchen will raise funds for the fire department. The post time is right after the parade. Bring a slug or bet on one provided by someone else. The event is open to slug owners of all ages.
