As Pioneer Days 2026 wraps up, we’re still hearing fresh stories from behind the scenes, especially from Englewood’s youngest residents.
Every contest and parade float carries a memory, and this year, the stories revolve around Talen Garrett, who’s 11, and his little brother, Aeson. This year’s champion is Aeson, just six years old, who took home the top prize at the watermelon and pie-eating contest.
Englewood REVIEW sat down to talk with their mom, Karis Russell, who was happy to fill us in on their story.
Karis explained, “Aeson’s my youngest; he just turned six. Talen’s 11, and Pioneer Days has always been something we look forward to as a family.”
Apparently, watermelon and pie-eating is a talent that runs in the family. Karis explains, “Talen’s won more than once. Actually, not last year but the year before, he was up against a younger girl. Her dad had won the pie-eating contest, and Talen realized how much it mattered for her to win with her dad. So before the medal ceremony, he quietly told the folks at the Dearborn Coffeehouse who organized the event not to give him the prize, but to pass it to the girl. He did it so smoothly that nobody noticed until afterward. That’s just how he is, a sweetheart. He also won a bike raffle and gave away his bike to another kid.”
That was a couple of years ago. Last year, Talen won another bike in the raffle, and he gave that one away too.
Karis laughed as she explains how Talen cheered for his brother Aeson during the contest. “He started calling Aeson ‘Hana,’ from Lilo & Stitch. It’s supposed to be ‘Ohana,’ but he couldn’t say the ‘O.’ It’s funny. He’s so gentle, always nudging people to the front, helping out.”
Karis says that Aeson is a little powerhouse. “He’s beaten grown men in the pie-eating contest. He took both the watermelon and pie prizes back-to-back for two years running. Last year, he came in second, but the year before that, he won both.”
She added, “Talen loves to win, but if he sees another kid who would appreciate something more, he gives it away. He said, ‘I already have a bike. They look so excited—maybe it’s their first bike.’ That’s just how he’s always been. Like when that girl really wanted to win, her dad had already won, and Talen just slid his medal to her. No hesitation. So sweet.”
Karis is a cancer survivor and has been in remission for a year. “Both my boys are wonderful. When I went through eighteen rounds of chemotherapy, my youngest was just three years old. He’d pull laundry in for me, put it in the wash. Always saying, ‘I got it, I got it.’ They’re both just like that, thoughtful and caring.”
Both Talen and Aeson have won Little Mr. Englewood. After winning the diaper derby, a local paper highlighted Talen. “Aeson missed out,” she explains. They didn’t hold it his year because of COVID. But when Talen won Little Mr. Englewood, he played a mini-piano for the crowd.”
We jokingly asked, “Okay, Karis, level with us: do you train these kids for the Pioneer Days contests all year?”
She laughed, “Yes, they eat a lot of pies! Especially when you see my little one eat, you’ll wonder how he does it. I tell him, ‘Boy, you need to compete against the adults!’ They really are both wonderful.”
