SEYMOUR — The 58th annual Seymour Pumpkin Festival will take place on Sunday (Sept. 22) at French Memorial Park.
French Memorial Park, located at the junction of Routes 8 and 67, will again be transformed into a Halloween haven of handicrafts, food and fall-themed family fun.
The festival is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will be held rain or shine. Admission is free.
Free parking will be available at Chatfield-LoPresti School, 51 Skokorat St., with shuttle buses running throughout the day. There’s also parking available in the downtown area, with a short walk to the park. Handicap parking will be available on Garden and Spruce streets.
For the safety of everyone, bikes, skates, skateboards, scooters or pets (registered service animals only) are not allowed at the festival.
According to Pumpkin Festival Association co-president Beth Hushion, there will be more than 160 arts and crafts booths, along with food vendors, a pumpkin-painting contest, live entertainment, and a petting zoo.
The seven-acre park will feature Halloween-themed sections, such as Goblin’s Gulch, Witch’s Walk and Scarecrow Alley. Tucked into those sections will be artisans selling their wares.
Keeping with tradition, second and third grade students from Bungay School, comprising this year’s Royal Court, will kick off festivities at 10 a.m. This year’s royals, who’ll be escorted onto the festival grounds by Seymour police, are King-Colin Fritz, Queen-Kiley Sawicki, Prince Charming-Gunner Stanis, Cinderella-Ella Falkowski, Pumpkin Prince-Jackson Sylwka and Pumpkin Princess-Sofia Gonzalez. (Fun fact: this reporter was a former Cinderella, complete with a sparkly tiara, seated in a wooden (made to look like glass) slipper and flanked by two door mice).
A variety of good eats will also be on the menu, with food booths run by local civic, school and nonprofit organizations, along with food trucks and local eateries.
Red dots mean no parking. Some places along RT 67 might charge to park. Pumpkin Festival provides a shuttle bus from Chatfield-LoPresti school at 51 Skokorat St. Drops you right at the main field. Source = Facebook
In addition to the food and craft vendors, there will be children’s activities, including a slime bar, tattoos, henna and face painting, along with contests that’ll take place throughout the day near festival headquarters, located behind the first-base dugout.
Kids can pick up a Scavenger Hunt activity sheet at the headquarters booth and search for hidden clues as they roam the park.
Entries for the pumpkin decorating contest must be delivered by noon for judging at 12:30 p.m. A children’s costume parade will begin at noon on the baseball field. Children can also enter a free “Guess the Goodies” treat contest.
There’s also a raffle happening to win goods donated by vendors. Tickets are $1 each, $5 for 12 or $20 for 25, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to TEAM Inc.’s Community Rising Flood Relief Fund, to benefit victims impacted by the Aug. 18 flooding.
“This year more than ever, the festival is about giving back to our community,” Hushion said. “Recent events (the Aug. 18 flooding) make this a wonderful time for people of all ages to come together and continue to support the community healing. People will be doing so while supporting local organizations and many local vendors.”
Petting zoo is a $5 one-time admission.
Nashville Drive will be performing throughout the day, and students from Aimee’s Academy of Dance will perform dance routines at 12:30 p.m. on the main field.
Making its seventh festival appearance will be Two-by-Two Animal Haven, a petting zoo featuring kangaroos, Patagonian cavys and other animals.
Admission to the petting zoo is $5 per person for unlimited visits.
The festival was started in 1965 by the Seymour Garden Club as a beautification project. Proceeds from the event are reinvested back into the community, for student scholarships, and have benefited countless Valley organizations.
