Cenex® Hometown Throwdown
Congrats to the 2025 winner
The Olde Tyme Apple Festival in Versailles, MO is your 2025 BEST FEST—winning the $100k grand prize! Celebrating over 40 years of apple-themed fun, this festival is one of Missouri’s largest, featuring everything from apple pie contests and demolition derbies to theater performances and retro bands.
Thanks to all five finalists for making this year’s Hometown Throwdown unforgettable.
How it worked
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Voting for the best
May 1 – 31, 2025
Five festival finalists were in the running for you to vote which fest is best to win the $100k grand prize at CenexHometownThrowdown.com
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And the winners are...
June 17, 2025
The grand prize winner will receive $100k, second place will receive $20K, third place will receive $15K, fourth place will receive $10K and fifth place will receive $5K
Festival winner highlights
Combining creativity and family fun, this two-day event showcases stunning 3D chalk art by nationally renowned artists, along with 630 drawings by kids and adults, spray painting classes, live instrument demonstrations and more.
A vibrant summer tradition for North Dakota and Minnesota, this festival draws crowds with 16 international chalk artists creating breathtaking art. It also features a color run, exotic zoo animals and live musical performances.
Set in a historic village that’s over 150 years old, Windmill Days is a three-day event featuring Dutch ski racing, a laser light show, clogging, axe throwing and more.
Fly the coop to Mapleton for a one-of-a-kind 3-day July 4th celebration, full of events like chicken poop bingo, foam parties, tractor pulls and carnival rides.
Norborne, Missouri comes alive for the Norborne Soybean Festival, a cherished celebration of community and agriculture.
STAY CONNECTED
Follow the journey as we celebrate community pride and togetherness through local festivals! Join us as we share the stories and spirit of the Hometown Throwdown—let's keep the connection alive! #HometownThrowdown #Cenex #PoweredLocally
Fueling what matters
Versailles’ Olde Tyme Apple Festival Wins the 2025 Hometown Throwdown $100,000 Grand Prize!
Local festivals: the heartbeat of communities
Cenex® brand awards $100,000 Hometown Throwdown competition grand prize
The Cenex® brand announces Hometown Throwdown top three festival finalists in the running to win $100,000 grand prize
The important role local festivals play in keeping communities connected
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The 2025 Hometown Throwdown call for entries was open January 7 – February 7, 2025, and is now closed.
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To be eligible, festivals must be run by a local chamber of commerce, municipality, downtown commission, community-oriented non-profit group or similar organization. Festivals must take place in the following states: AR, CO, ID, IA, IL, KS, MI, MN, MT, MO, NE, ND, OK, OR, SD, TX, WA, WI and WY.
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The festival that receives the highest number of votes from eligible voters will receive the $100,000 grand prize, the festival with the second highest number of votes from eligible voters will receive $20,000, the festival with the third highest number of votes from eligible voters will receive $15,000, the festival with the fourth highest number of votes from eligible voters will receive $10,000, the festival with the fifth highest number of votes from eligible voters will receive $5,000.
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Nominated festivals will be reviewed by a panel, who will focus on the specific criteria below (as noted in the terms and conditions), to select the top five finalists:
- Eligibility Criteria: Nominated Festivals that meet each of the designated eligibility criteria as outlined above;
- Best Fest (50%): Entrant’s description of why their local hometown festival or event is the “Best Fest” including submissions and associated Festivals that are deemed to be the best at promoting or fostering civic pride and unite local residents, along with any determination of the festival or event as being original, unique and creative;
- Benefit to Festival (25%): Entrant’s description of how or why Cenex can help make it better with a grant;
- Positive representation of #PoweredLocally and Cenex® (25%): Nominated Festival and associated submission that best represents the local community, Sponsor’s brand image, Sponsor’s product and the #PoweredLocally theme in a positive manner.
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The local chamber of commerce, municipality, downtown commission, community-oriented non-profit group or similar organization for the top five festivals were notified via phone and/or email beginning on or about February 28, 2025.
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Voting for the 2025 best fest was open May 1 – May 23, 2025, and is now closed.
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Voters shall be allowed to submit a maximum of one vote per person during the entire voting period.
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The Olde Tyme Apple Festival in Versailles, MO was announced as the 2025 $100k grand prize winner on June 17, 2025. In addition to the grand prize winner, the Hazen Chalkfest in Hazen, North Dakota, received $20,000 for second place; Borderline Chalkfest in Wahpeton, North Dakota, received $15,000 for third place; Windmill Days in Baldwin, Wisconsin, received $10,000 for fourth place; and the 4th of July Celebration in Mapleton, Iowa, was awarded $5,000 for fifth place.
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You can find the official Hometown Throwdown rules on CenexHometownThrowdown.com.
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