Pumpkin Fest 2014

 Disclaimer:  As you may have heard, riots broke out in the surrounding neighborhoods of Pumpkin Fest. Yes, destruction, multiple arrests and minor injuries occurred. No, I was not involved or affected (I didn't even know they were happening).

This past weekend was Pumpkin Fest, a local tradition for over a decade.  Located in Keene, NH and established in 1991, it was originally called the "Harvest Festival"; showcasing baked goods, fall arts and crafts, and debuted a whopping 600 pumpkins.

The following year they more than doubled that amount with 1,628 and won the 1st Guinness Book of World Record for most jack-o-lanterns. Since then the festival has continued to grow. And boy do I mean grow!  Last year marked their 9th World Record topping out at massive 30,128 pumpkins!  Yup, that's right, 30,128 pumpkins!

This was my fist time attending Pumpkin Fest so I really didn't know what to expect.  But one thing I did know was you don't go empty handed.  Everyone is expected to bring a pumpkin, at least one. (Some even bring them by the truck load). So I spent the night before carving away and my friend Mandy and I donated 4 beautiful masterpieces.

We dropped our pumpkins off at one of the loading stations earlier in the day.  Excellent idea so we wouldn't have to carry our pumpkins from wherever we ended up parking. The problem is that we had no idea where their final resting place lay. The fate of our pumpkins was entirely in the hands of someone else... a stanger! I saw other people scoping out the perfect spot for their pumpkins.  Delicately positioning their pumpkins just so and making sure they were lit properly before bidding them farewell.  I began to feel neglectful and a little unsettled because  I had no clue what had become of our pumpkins. Where the heck are my pumpkins?  Are they even lit?  My obsessiveness reared it's determined head and it soon became my quest to find my intricately carved creations.

LOST:  Has anyone seen these pumpkins???

Despite what people kept telling me, I was surprised to see it was a full on festival.  The city center was completely shut down and inundated w/people and pumpkins.  There was a Haunted Church, a Ferris Wheel, carving stations, and even Pumpkin Bowling.  There was a food court, a craft court and all the downtown shops, restaurants and bars were open for business.

As the sky drew darker and the crowd got thicker, those pumpkins began to shine.  There was a shimmering orange glow as far as the eye could see.  It was truly spectacular.  Thousands upon thousands of jack-o-lanterns; all shapes, colors, and sizes.  Kiddie carvings, weird carvings, great carvings and some that made you stop dead in your tracks and go "WOW!".  I had no idea you could do so much with a pumpkin.  I'm definitely upping my game with my carvings next year.

We left just after the great pumpkin count, which, truth be told, was extremely disappointing.  Pumpkin Fest 2014 came in at a measly 21,912 jack-o-lanterns.  That's 8,216 less pumpkins than last year... 8,216 LESS!!!  What the hell happened???  Why did people not bring more pumpkins???  It's no wonder everyone started rioting (kidding of course).  But seriously, what a bummer.

...or maybe 21,000?

And even though the final count was significantly less than the year before, the entire experience was beyond impressive. Riots or no riots I'd do it again. In the end I never did find my pumpkins... so sad. But as I was strolling along the streets, admiring the creativity and detail of everyone else, I couldn't help but think that someone, at this very moment, is gazing upon my pumpkin and smiling.  

Happy Halloween!!