---
title: "Goose-a-palooza"
date: "2019-01-22"
modified: "2021-01-14"
authors:
  - name: "Keith Sutton"
    link: "https://www.outdoorlife.com/authors/keith-sutton/"
url: "https://www.outdoorlife.com/story/hunting/node-1006026283/"
categories:
  - "Hunting"
---

# Goose-a-palooza

![](<https://www.outdoorlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/22/T3PLYRWLG2AT2C5INOVPIIMKTI.jpg>)
*Default Photo*

Sumner, Missouri (population 142), prides itself on being the "Wild Goose Capital of the World." Up to 80,000 Canada geese winter on nearby Swan Lake National Wildlife Refuge, a fact commemorated by Maxie, "The World's Largest Goose." The statue stands 40 feet tall, weighs 5,500 pounds and has a 65-foot wingspan. It was christened at Sumner's 1976 Goose Festival by the Goose Festival Queen with a bottle of water from the nearby Grand River.

The festival draws thousands of visitors each October. Organizers say this year's event (Oct. 21-22) is sure to be the biggest yet, with a goose-calling contest, a gooseberry pie cook-off, a trap shoot and arm wrestling. (660-938-4667; goosefestival.com) --Keith Sutton