The traditional annual Festival of Scarecrows that usually takes place in Old Town has been cancelled this year due to a scheduling conflict, and the First Annual Pumpkin Festival will take place in mid-October in lieu of it.
The four-hour event will feature a Giant Pumpkin and Giant Squash contest (weigh-in at 1:30 pm), a cultivator wheel that kids may spin for prizes, and an opportunity to buy Indian corn, plants, gourds, pumpkins, corn stalks, and mini pumpkins. Guests may answer gardening questions and, if correct, will win packets of seeds.
New this year will be free Halloween-themed crafts, pumpkin-flavored treats, and cider.
Tours of the community garden will be offered, and may include ADA-compliant beds, new shed, beehives, barn, greenhouse, garden plots, pumps and ditch, gazebo, herb and gourd gardens, and the Monarch Butterfly area.
The U-Pick Pumpkin Patch will be open during the event on Saturdays from 8:00 am to noon, and Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.
Kids sitting in a pumpkin patch like the one, holding their pumpkin finds and grinning from ear to ear, can make great pictures. Photos like these often go to local prints shops for duplicates for family and friends.
Anyone interested in participating in next year’s festival may rent a garden plot for $50.
Arvada’s 1st Annual Pumpkin Festival will take place at the Arvada Community Garden, 9195 W 57th Avenue from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm on Saturday, October 14.
