COLLINSVILLE — This area has long been regarded as the Horseradish Capital of the World, as large quantities of the root grown in the bottomland soil around the area are exported worldwide.
That heritage is celebrated annually at the International Horseradish Festival in Collinsville’s Woodland Park. The event, June 2-4 this year, is celebrating its 30th anniversary.
Collinsville Chamber of Commerce Communications Coordinator Chanelle Smith says it’s an important event for the town and for the entire area.
“It’s a celebration of who we are and what we do,” she says.
The family-oriented festival includes food, music, crafts and contests.
“It’s a great event for the entire family,” Smith says.
Activities kick off Friday evening with opening ceremonies at 6 p.m. on the main stage in the park. Music will start at 6:30 p.m. and will feature The VCRs, a local band specializing in popular music from the 1980s and ‘90s. Balloon rides will be available through RE/MAX Alliance on the Jaycee field that evening.
Saturday begins at 8 a.m. with a fishing derby. Contests, music and food will be featured throughout the day.
Prizes will be given for the root toss competition, at which contestants vie to see who can throw a horseradish root the farthest. Prizes will also be awarded in the root golf contest, where the objective is to make a hole-in-one with a ball carved from a horseradish root.
A root sacking contest will be held where two-person teams see how many horseradish roots they can load into a sack in 30 seconds. The heaviest sack wins.
Smith explains that in addition to traditional midway foods, a wide variety of horseradish-based dishes will be available.
“Horseradish pizza is one of the annual favorites,” she says.
In addition, horseradish fried pickles and horseradish wings as well as brats and burgers with horseradish condiments are popular.
Music will be provided by acoustic artists throughout the day. The main music act begins at 6 p.m. that evening and features local band Hick Town.
On Sunday, a 5K run starts things off at 8 a.m., with race awards given at 9. A bloody mary contest will take place at noon on the main stage, where contestants tweak their favorite bloody mary drink recipes to win up to $200 in first-prize money.
A washers tournament is set for Saturday and a bean bag tournament is on tap for Sunday. Cost per team to enter is $30 for each event. At 4 p.m. Sunday, the Little Miss and Mister festival contest will take place on the main stage.
A wide variety of crafts will be available to view and purchase at the Jeanne Sagavoc craft village.
Festival organizers held a competition to design the logo for the 30th anniversary event. The winner and logo designer was Keondez M. Robinson, a student at Colllinsville High School.