Elk Falls Outhouse Tour

If  you’ve not yet attended Elk Falls Outhouse Festival, you’ve gotta go!  And if you have attended, you know how much fun the Outhouse Tour and Contest is.  The 14th Annual event will be held during the Elk Falls Annual Fall Open House, Friday and Saturday, November 20-21.

Outhouses are being repaired, remodeled, moved and painted all over town as competitors prepare for this year’s contest.  Several new outhouse entries, as well as returning favorites, will vie for the prize money and bragging rights.  Elk Konnected will be sponsoring a new entry competing against the Barber Hole, the Laboratory, the Social Movement, and the Loo With a View.  Visitors will be the judges when they buy a $1 Outhouse Button, pick up a map and ballot and take the self-guided tour.

New this year is the Homer Allison Outhouse Collection, part of the lifetime collection of outhouse memorabilia, donated to the Friends of Elk Falls by retired Air Force sergeant Homer Allison from rural Maryland.  The collection is on display at the Pershing/Prairie Gem Schoolhouse.  On Saturday only, Marci Penner and WenDee LaPlant of the Kansas Sampler Foundation will be on hand as official Outhouse Greeters.  Also on Saturday the Stitch Miller Band, sponsored by SKT will be playing bluegrass music around town..  For the kids, there will be a graham cracker outhouse making station downtown, sponsored by Elk Konnected Youth Development Action Committee.  A beautiful framed 42”x30” print of children riding a horse by Tim Cox will be raffled on Saturday.  Raffle tickets will be available at the festival.

Other activities will be the Arts and Crafts Show at the Gym, the Quilt Show at Calvary Chapel, Open House at the one room schoolhouse and at Elk Falls Pottery.  Check out the 2009 Christmas mug,  along with Jane’s famous Bread Sampler and hot spiced cider.

And what would a festival be without food?  You’ll have to come both days just to try it all!  At the gym, you’ll find Ethel’s Homemade Chicken and Noodles along with a wide variety of other delicious choices.  You can support the Elk County Council on Aging with pulled pork sandwiches at the Senior Center, or the 4-Hers with baked goodies downtown.  If you prefer beef, you’ll want to try Rancher’s  Best Beef.  And the Elk Falls Cafe is reopening under new management serving a special menu for the festival of soup and subs.  It will be open Saturdays and  Sundays starting in December.  And of course, the Elk Falls Open House wouldn’t be complete without a homemade apple dumpling, served again at Calvary Chapel on the highway.  Rumor has it that you might also be able to find gourmet hot chocolate, outhouse cookies, and other treats around town – a tasty treasure hunt!

Maybe outhouses aren’t your idea of Going Green, but the fun is definitely all natural, low impact, and easy on your entertainment budget.  So grab a friend, do your duty and vote!