The annual Cosumnes River Elementary School Harvest Festival Sunday afternoon had all the old-time favorites like a cake walk, pie-eating contest and carnival games, plus something new. This year, for the first time, parents had an alternative to parking on the shoulder of the busy highway and hiking in with costumed kids in tow. Instead, families could hop on a school bus shuttle paid for by the Optimist Club. "The bus is just the best thing," said Kellie Reyes, a parent volunteer who saw passengers disembark as she collected admission fees at the door of the school.

The costume contest is the capping event for the festival. The four winners in the contest for kindergarten through third grade were Halee Reyes, left, Josie Viegas, Samantha Dias and Clara Hunt.

Winners for fourth through sixth grades were all twosomes -- Blues Brothers Ethan and Sam Liff, gorilla CJ Benavente and his banana/brother, 9-month-old Kaleo, and Abby Carlson, who proved two heads are better than one by winning Best of Show. She credited her grandmother for coming up with the idea for her young-and-old costume, and for help in making it.

Audrey Spencer, 3, attended the festival as a poodle. She had a lot of company from the animal world -- a raccoon, an elephant and a few black cats, just for starters. There were pirates a plenty, enough witches to form a coven, and a flock of dainty princesses.