The 5th Annual Mississippi Gourd Festival had its first gourd contest, the People’s Choice. The winners were: First Place–Helen Looman of Yazoo City, MS, a large woodburned ‘Peace on Earth’ faux leather-tooled gourd bowl Second Place–Sherry Briscoe of Reidsville, NC, a cut and stained Celtic-design thunder gourd Third Place–Renee King of Hattiesburg, MS, a working table lamp with a carved and painted gourd lampshade Honorable Mention–Cora Mae Overby of Oak Grove, LA, a handpainted owl gourd. I would like to thank everyone for their participation and I hope to have more contestants next year. –Christa Enslin