In honour of all the Halloween jack-o-lanterns out there doing their job tonight, I wanted to share this fun event we went to on our New England road trip the other week. While making our way back from Salem, Massachusetts, we made a quick detour up to Keene, New Hampshire to see the unbelievable Keene Pumpkin Festival.
They were trying to beat the world record for the most jack-o-lanterns lit. I believe the final count was 27170! The centerpiece of the whole festivities was this massive tower of scaffolding, full of jack-o-lanterns. There was also a run in the morning, a costume parade, food and craft market and a dumpster derby to clean it all up.
At the top was this MASSIVE pumpkin. Just look at that thing!
I’m not exaggerating when I say that there were jack-o-lanterns on every street corner, in droves. Participants could drop off their own pumpkin upon entering the gates, or you could go “adopt” one form the pumpkin orphanage and carve your own contribution.
We caught “Studio Two“, a great Beatles tribute band. They had it nailed right down to the bowl cuts and British accents.
HGTV Magazine was there with different workshops throughout the day. We grabbed the latest copy of the magazine, and sat on these hay bales with a cup of hot soup for a break.
There were some great local vendors there, including artists who make these awesome blown glass pumpkins. I regret not grabbing one while we were there.
Quite a few people dressed up for the occasion, from kids in superhero suits to adults in creepier garb.
A local youth group setup a haunted house in this impressive church. Of course, I was to chicken to go in (see yesterday’s post), but I could appreciate it from afar.
The Colonial Theatre was playing Looney Tunes cartoons for a $1 donation. I saw many young families taking a break in there while they waited for all the pumpkins to be lit.
You could ride the ferris wheel and get a better view of the festivities from 45 feet in air.
Just as we were leaving the festival, we found a pumpkin with a maple leaf. I know it was for Rock Maple Farm, and not for Canada, but seeing our emblem told us it was time to make our way back home. Plus we had a huge urge to get back to carve our own pumpkins!
Hope you all have a safe and fun Halloween today. I’ll be back tomorrow with a quick recap of today’s festivities. Let’s just say I’ve eaten more chocolate and candy this morning than I did in the entire month of September.
Loved this since can’t go there.