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  • Ammon’s 13-Year-Old Pie-Eating Champ Came for Free Pie

    Ammon’s 13-Year-Old Pie-Eating Champ Came for Free Pie

    Sunday, October 18, 2026

    Ammon’s 13-Year-Old Pie-Eating Champ Came for Free Pie

    At the city’s Pumpkin Walk, Darnell won two rounds by focusing on the filling—and arrived with one very practical motivation.

    Editorial illustration of a teenager celebrating after a pumpkin pie contest at an autumn festival.
    Editorial illustration

    A 13-year-old named Darnell went home from Ammon, Idaho’s Pumpkin Walk with two pie-eating round wins and a clear explanation for signing up: the pie was free.

    The new contest was part of Saturday’s 15th annual Pumpkin Walk at McCowin Park. Six volunteers competed every half-hour, racing for three minutes to eat pumpkin-pie filling while keeping their hands behind their backs. The crust stayed in the pie; Darnell said he first tried to eat the whole thing before judges clarified the target.

    His strategy worked twice. Darnell told local station KIFI that he prefers apple or blueberry pie, which makes his two pumpkin victories an especially tidy piece of contest journalism: sometimes the prize is simply being hungry at the right festival.

    The park had another headline-sized entry: Brandon Crain of Shelley won the giant-pumpkin contest with a 1,281-pound pumpkin, a record for the Pumpkin Walk. Local families, schools, businesses and nonprofits built the displays, which remain at McCowin Park through Halloween.

    The City of Ammon said the free kickoff included more than 40 pumpkin displays, giant pumpkins, train rides, food, vendors and music. The event’s new pie competition was organized with Kneaders Bakery and Cafe.

    Sources: KIFI’s Oct. 17 report from the Pumpkin Walk; City of Ammon event announcements.

    More from tonight’s network

  • Louisiana Gives Fire Safety a Feathered Ambassador: Meet Pelly-Can

    Louisiana Gives Fire Safety a Feathered Ambassador: Meet Pelly-Can

    Louisiana’s State Fire Marshal has introduced a new public-safety mascot with a name that sounds ready to take off: Pelly-Can, a pelican who will help bring fire-prevention lessons to communities around the state.

    The office announced the bird on Oct. 8, explaining that pelicans were chosen for their connection to Louisiana as the state bird. Pelly-Can’s catchphrase is “Making Fire Safety Soar in Louisiana,” and the mascot is planned for lessons on smoke alarms, home escape plans, cooking safety, carbon monoxide, generator safety and disaster preparedness.

    A bird with a practical mission

    State Fire Marshal Chief Chad Sonnier said the character will give families a recognizable way into serious safety topics. Local fire departments are also expected to receive activity sheets, coloring pages and other materials featuring Pelly-Can. The first assignment for this feathered educator is clear: make useful safety advice stick, one memorable name at a time.

    The Louisiana Office of State Fire Marshal announced the mascot in its Oct. 8 news release. Baton Rouge station WBRZ also reported on the introduction.

    Tonight across the network

  • Somerville’s Fluff Festival Turns 21 as 2,000 Fluffernutters Start Vanishing

    Somerville’s Fluff Festival Turns 21 as 2,000 Fluffernutters Start Vanishing

    Somerville’s marshmallow celebration reached its 21st birthday on Saturday, and the party came with an impressive opening act: roughly 2,000 fluffernutter sandwiches prepared by the city’s high-school musicians. By midafternoon, their supply was nearly gone.

    The Boston Globe’s report from Union Square described packed crowds at the Sept. 19 What the Fluff? Festival. Visitors filled the square, Bow Street and part of Somerville Avenue to celebrate Marshmallow Fluff, which confectioner Archibald Query first made in the neighborhood more than a century ago.

    At noon, an hour before the festival’s official start, people were already lining up at Honeycomb Creamery for a toasted Fluff ice-cream taco. By 1 p.m., that queue had plenty of company across the festival route.

    A sandwich operation with a soundtrack

    Students in Somerville High School’s band, orchestra and chorus spent Friday preparing about 2,000 fluffernutters and 500 crisp-rice treats. Their table holds a special place in the festival: the classic peanut-butter-and-marshmallow sandwiches belong to the school music program, while more than 100 other vendors supplied their own Fluff-inspired foods, drinks, art and merchandise.

    The result made the student musicians both performers and sandwich logisticians. Their nearly empty buckets by midafternoon offered a sweet measure of the crowd’s enthusiasm.

    Elsewhere, artists sold handmade Fluff-themed pieces, friends sampled pumpkin Fluff sandwiches and visitors posed with a festival mascot. The Globe spoke with neighbors returning for another year and travelers from Atlanta who joined the celebration after friends recommended it.

    Editorial illustration.

    “Legally Fluff” fills the square

    The festival’s 21st-year theme was “Legally Fluff: A Toast to Union Square.” In its official festival announcement, the City of Somerville listed Fluff musical chairs, Fluff limbo, a Fluff hair-do contest, live music and more than 100 local vendors among the day’s attractions.

    The city also highlighted Angela Hsuan Chen, the 2026 recipient of the festival’s innovation-for-impact award. Chen was recognized for multilingual outreach that helps Spanish-, Mandarin-, Taiwanese- and English-speaking neighbors use the Union Square Farmers Market’s SNAP Match program.

    That pairing captured the festival’s personality: playful competitions and sticky treats shared space with local art, student music and practical community work. Turning 21 simply gave Somerville another reason to toast the neighborhood tradition.

    Sunday’s dog-game preview

    Cleveland has a different community celebration scheduled for Sunday. Rescue Village’s Woofstock is set for Sept. 20 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Cleveland Metroparks Polo Field. Its planned dog games include Musical Sit, best smile, best kisser, dog-and-owner look-alike honors and three ice-cream-eating races divided by dog size. A fundraising Ramble, adoptable-dog showcase, animal blessings, music and vendors complete the scheduled lineup.

    Tonight around the news network

    • Hilarious News follows Denali’s final scheduled sled-dog demonstration of the season, complete with a shuttle plan and Buster Barkley on departure duty.
    • Smile News joins a Niobrara River clean-up float that ends with a volunteer potluck.
    • Weird News looks back at Julius Neubronner’s early pigeon-carried camera and its pneumatic shutter.
    • FunnyNews.lol presents the fictional satire “The Leaf Arrival Committee,” a Sunday comic about giving autumn’s first guest a proper welcome desk.

    Sources

  • Toronto Opens the Weekend With Rescue Dogs, Circus Tricks, and a Lure Course

    Toronto Opens the Weekend With Rescue Dogs, Circus Tricks, and a Lure Course

    FunnyNews.today · September 4, 2026

    Toronto Opens the Weekend With Rescue Dogs, Circus Tricks, and a Lure Course

    Bark in the Park TO brings a particularly joyful kind of stage talent to Woodbine Park today: canine performers with comedy routines, agility flair, and a full audience of people ready to applaud.

    Happy rescue dogs and their trainers performing gentle circus-style tricks in a sunny Toronto park
    Editorial illustration

    Toronto’s Bark in the Park TO opens Friday, September 4, at Woodbine Park in the Beaches. The four-day gathering shares its Labour Day weekend home with Toronto International BuskerFest for Epilepsy, creating a city-park menu where leashes, juggling acts, and friendly applause all have a place.

    The headline act for dog fans is The Canine Circus. Festival organizers say its rescue-dog performers bring circus-style tricks, comedy routines, stunts, and playful surprises alongside their trainers. That combination gives the event a charming premise: the performers arrive ready for a show, and a tail can provide its own standing ovation.

    Friday’s opening hours run from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.; the festival continues through Monday, September 7. The official program also lists a Dog Lovers Day Lure Course, dog-friendly play areas, vendors, photo opportunities, and a pet costume contest scheduled for Saturday. Jenelle Miller, billed by the festival as a world Frisbee dog champion, appears Friday and Monday with meet-and-greets after the shows.

    Admission works by donation in support of Epilepsy Toronto. The organization says the shared festival weekend supports services for people living with epilepsy, while Bark in the Park brings a dedicated space for dogs and their humans. That makes today’s punchline pleasantly simple: a big city park hosts a dog show, and the community benefit stays in the frame.

    A joyful dog clearing a low agility bar beside an enthusiastic trainer at a Toronto community festival
    Editorial illustration

    Quick details

    • When: Friday, September 4 through Monday, September 7, 2026
    • Friday hours: 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
    • Where: Woodbine Park, 1695 Queen Street East, Toronto
    • Good to know: Festival access is available by donation, with proceeds supporting Epilepsy Toronto.

    Across the FunnyNews network

    Sources

  • The Wildcat Took Off His Head—and Revealed the Brother Everyone Was Waiting For

    The Wildcat Took Off His Head—and Revealed the Brother Everyone Was Waiting For

    FunnyNews.today Daily Briefing · August 31, 2026

    The Wildcat Took Off His Head—and Revealed the Brother Everyone Was Waiting For

    A staged mascot tryout in an Oklahoma gym turned into a family reunion when a deployed National Guard sergeant surprised his freshman sister.

    A purple-and-gold Wildcat mascot lifts off its oversized head as a surprised student reaches forward in a bright high-school gym
    Original editorial illustration created for FunnyNews.today.

    PIEDMONT, Okla. — The mystery guest at a high-school mascot tryout had the right dance moves, the right oversized head and, as it turned out, exactly the right family connection.

    Piedmont Public Schools shared a video on Aug. 30 showing a person in the school’s Wildcat costume moving through what cheer squad members believed was a mascot audition. Then the performer lifted off the Wildcat head. A freshman named Taylin recognized her brother, James, and ran to hug him.

    James is a sergeant in the Army National Guard who had spent about a year deployed overseas in Jordan, according to the school’s post and local television reports. The reveal gave the gym a very specific kind of plot twist: the mascot tryout was also a welcome-home party, and the costume’s secret identity was hiding in plain sight.

    The school’s short message celebrating James’s return supplied the emotional punctuation. The video, meanwhile, supplied the practical lesson in surprise planning: if you want to make an entrance your sibling will remember, a giant Wildcat head provides useful cover.

    WBTV and WFSB both published the account on Aug. 30 and identified Piedmont Public Schools as the source of the video. FunnyNews.today reviewed those reports alongside the school’s original post. The event is a small, cheerful reminder that a familiar school ritual can double as a pretty effective family-reunion stage.

    Two more cheerful briefs

    Junior rangers put neighborhood clues on the case

    At New York’s Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, the National Park Service scheduled an Aug. 30 Junior Ranger program inviting children to become “animal detectives” by learning to recognize signs left by neighborhood wildlife. The official event listing says the free program focused on sharing a community with local animals safely.

    Badges, crafts and a horse-sized bonus

    The National Park Service’s Aug. 30 Junior Ranger Day listing for the National Mall paired a scavenger hunt and an America 250 badge with horse crafts and a possible meet-and-greet with the U.S. Park Police Mounted Unit. The page records the event as completed, which means some visitors got to pursue a badge while the horses handled the celebrity portion.

    Tonight across the network