Main Street in historic downtown Hillsboro is gearing up for the popular Harvest Market, sponsored by Imagine Hillsboro, and this year’s event – set for Saturday, Oct. 5 – is shaping up to be spooktacular. Now in its fifth year, the treasured community tradition will feature “Chalk of the Town”, where visitors can enjoy turning Main Street into a masterpiece, a Chili Cook-off competition and spooky Ghost Tours. Unique to the festival this year, local manufacturer Atlas 46 is teaming up with the City of Hillsboro to host the first-ever Hillsboro Haunting Monster Building Competition, where teams will battle head to head to design and build the best monster creation, with various great prizes up for grabs, including a $1,000 grand prize.
The monstrous event will feature two categories of competition – the Competitive Build providing skilled builders the opportunity to showcase their talents, and a Fun Family Build exposing future generations to the thrill of creating something from a pile of raw materials as they get a glimpse into the world of manufacturing. Area residents are invited to come out and cheer on their favorite team during the building event, which will take place in front of the Orpheum Theater along Main Street in downtown Hillsboro. The Fun Family Build will kick off the day’s festivities at 10 a.m., followed by the Competitive Build from 12 p.m. – 2 p.m.
“The Harvest Market is truly one of Hillsboro’s most fun and unique events, filled with small town charm and offering something for everyone, including a variety of vendors with unique handmade and vintage items, live entertainment, specialty food booths, and downtown businesses running specials that coincide with the fall market,” said Jonathan Weyer, Community Planner for the City of Hillsboro. “We couldn’t be more excited to be teaming with Atlas 46 to add another great element to this year’s event and look forward to a wonderful turn out of area residents and visitors who will get to experience Hillsboro as a great place to live, work, learn and play.”
While participants in the building competition are welcome to bring their own cordless tools on the day of the event, team members will only be allowed to use the materials provided to construct their monster, including wood, chicken wire, pool noodles, donated clothes, etc.
During the free Fun Family Build competition, teams of no more than four – including at least one adult and one child – will have one hour to construct their monster using precut materials only. Hand saws may be used as available by the teams. Contest winners will be decided by a team of judges, with the top three teams receiving a new, All American 75/25 Duffle Bag valued at $75. Teams will be allowed to take their creations home following the event, and team members age 12 and under will also get to keep their Atlas 46 apron provided to them at check-in.
Competitive Build teams must pay a $25 entry fee and are allowed a maximum of three members per team. Community cutting stations will be available for straight/angled cuts only (miter saws will be used), and volunteers will be available to make those cuts if needed. Monsters must be a minimum of four feet tall and free-standing. Winners of the Competitive Build contest will be decided by popular vote from event attendees, with First Place taking home the grand prize of $1,000. Second runner-up will be awarded a $250 gift card to Atlas 46 and third place will receive an Atlas 46 Quick Detach Yorktown Tool Roll valued at $135. Monster creations will be displayed at a local Hillsboro business through the month of October.
“We are thrilled to offer this fun, creative contest to showcase the many talents of industry professionals and to introduce youth and their families to the manufacturing world with the Monster Building Competition,” said Brian Carver, President of Atlas 46, which opened a manufacturing facility in Hillsboro in 2018. “As a company committed to delivering American-made products based on quality driven innovative designs, we’re proud to put together an event that highlights the building process and look forward to continuing to grow with the Hillsboro community.”
Pre-registration is required to participate in the Monster Building Competition and the deadline to register is Oct. 2. For additional questions or more information, visit www.hillsboromonster.com. For more information on the Harvest Market, visit Imagine Hillsboro on Facebook.
Atlas 46
With locations in Fenton, MO and Hillsboro, IL, Atlas 46 designs, develops, and manufactures innovative, premium workwear and gear for the construction, carpentry, electrical, maintenance, off-roading, DIY, and woodworking industries. The company was established in 2013 by founder and owner John Carver and is well-known nationally and internationally for its innovative work-gear and patented system that allows users to arrange and rearrange pouches based on their needs. For more information, visit www.atlas46.com or find Atlas 46 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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For more information, contact:
Merisa Ashbaugh
(314) 436-9090
merisa@hausergrouppr.com