Break out the spoons for Tamarack Time!

Bigfork is preparing to celebrate the harvest with a literal smorgasbord this Saturday, Oct. 9, in the Village.

Electric Avenue is already decked out with cornstalks to set the mood for the annual Tamarack Time! cooking contest and tasting event.

The “bite-sized” food festival includes 14 different categories including casseroles, cookies, ethnic foods, soups and stews.

The most competitive category ends up being chili, organizer Gretchen Gates said.

“It tends to get a little intense,” she said.

The largest number of entries is usually in two of the dessert categories — pies and chocolate desserts.

It’s free to enter the event. Dishes should be brought to Electric Avenue between 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Judging begins at noon.

The top three dishes in each category are awarded cooking medals.

The event will also include hay and tractor rides starting at 11 a.m., pumpkin carving at the Double Eagle Courtyard at noon, llamas at Brookies Cookies and an apple press on the La Provence deck by the Essential Stuff Project.

Tasting by the masses begins at 1 p.m. and costs $4. Tickets can be purchased at the information booth in front of the Bigfork Museum of Art & History. Maps of the category locations will be available there as well as the Tamarack Time! Cookbook. The book, published in 2004, includes 270 pages of local recipes and will be for sale for $15.

Lines get long and tasting continues until the food is gone. Last year, more than 425 people came out to taste the flavors of Bigfork.

A few judges are still needed for some of the event categories. To sign up, contact Gates at 249-5816 or Donna Lawson at 261-0234.

The tasting event will be followed this year by the Garden Bar’s Oktoberfest starting at 2 p.m. with free beer and brats.

Later in the evening will be the Rotary Club’s annual Barn Dance. The dance begins at 6:30 p.m. at River Bend Ranch in Ferndale. Tickets are $50 per person.

The event includes a Tex-Mex dinner catered by Lisa Cloutier of The Raven as well as complimentary beer and wine and a cash bar.

Music will be provided by Ashley Creek Ramblers with Roy Wilhelm.

Activities will include dancing, horseshoes, roping and a cake walk, as well as the silent and live auctions. This year’s two live auction items are a wine cooler refrigerator and a Nirve cruiser bicycle. The Rotary Club will also be raffling off a collection of 52 bottles of wine. Tickets are $10 apiece or three for $25 and are on sale now from any club member or at the Jug Tree.

For more information about any of Saturday’s events, contact the Bigfork Area Chamber of Commerce at 837-5888.