Harvest Festival 2025 Recap Gallery

Oct 9, 2025 | Event Info

A Record-Breaking Weekend in Clear Lake

Harvest Festival 2025 was one for the books! A record-breaking 13,300 visitors filled downtown Clear Lake for a day of sipping, shopping, and celebrating all things fall. From the bustling wine walk and creative pole décor to the fan-favorite Champagne 5K, it was a weekend that truly captured the spirit of North Iowa’s favorite fall destination.

Festival-goers sampled pours from regional wineries, cheered on their favorite stomp teams, and showed off their best costumes. Attendance grew by more than 2,000 this year—a sure sign that this beloved Clear Lake tradition just keeps getting better!

Check out the full list of winners below and browse our photo gallery for all the highlights from an amazing fall weekend at the lake.

Best Wines of the Day Soldier Creek Winery – Paragon Pink Winneshiek Wildberry Winery, LLC – Horney Heifer Paha Cider – Pumpkin Spice Cider

Pole Decorating Contest Winners: 1st: Central Gardens of North Iowa, 2nd: Farmers State Bank, 3rd: The Red Geranium

Salsa Contest Champions Mild: Gary Christensen, Medium: Michael Flanagan, Hot: Gary Christensen

Grape Stomp Winners Kurtti Stompers for the third year in a row! ️

Cheers to a record-breaking Champagne 5K! We had our biggest race yet with 239 participants running, walking, and celebrating through downtown Clear Lake!

Winners:

Male: 1st Place: Ben Lloyd, 2nd Place: Trevor Ronnei, 3rd Place: Chris Ward

Female: 1st Place: Britt Stormer 2nd Place: Missy Davis, 3rd Place: Tracy Walker

Youth: 1st Place: Addi Hedrick 2nd Place: Charlotte Tisor 3rd Place: Evan Bartusek

Costume Awards Best Group: Andy & Grace Tofilon, Best Individual: Andy Rickert, and Best Pet: Max (Mary Drew Kohlhaas)