The first Newtown Pumpkin Festival will kick off Saturday at Fairfield Hills, with both Newtown residents and visitors from near and far congregating to light jack-o-lanterns for a fall-themed "feast of lights."
Festival organizer Lisa Rose says she's already sold about 1,000 tickets, and expects crowds of up to 2,500 for the event.
"It's going to be an amazing sight," she says. "It's unbelievable to see that many pumpkins cut and lit at once."
The festival is inspired by another wildly successful festival in Keene, NH, whose yearly pumpkin fest draws crowds to their town green to the number of tens of thousands. It's the largest pumpkin festival in the world, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.Rose is the owner of Bead of Roses on South Main St, a jewelry shop with a history of supporting the victims of 12/14 and related charities through their line of Sandy Hook bracelets. A former Keene resident, she first tried to bring the Pumpkin Festival to Newtown in 2011.
"That was the year Hurricane Irene came in and squashed my pumpkin event," she told Patch in July, when this year's festival was still in its planning stages.
Now the festival has grown into a day-long event for kids and adults, complete with two area bands, face painting, karaoke and games from ring toss to football. Mexican food, pulled pork sandwiches, popcorn, hot dogs and hamburgers will also be available.
For more details about the Newtown Pumpkin Festival, see their website and their posting on Patch.
It's not the only pumpkin-themed celebration in Newtown this month. Newtown High School student MacKenzie Page will again host her Great Pumpkin Challenge (now in its third year) at her Main Street home. More details on that pumpkin-palooza in coming days.
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