Stacyville plans second annual pumpkin festival

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    STACYVILLE — If pumpkins are your thing, Stacyville is the place to be Saturday, Oct. 23 for the second annual Pumpkin Festival.
    A high school dance for grades 9-12 kicks off the event Friday from 7-11 p.m. at the Sherman Gymnasium. The cost of the dance is $5 per person and all proceeds benefit the Pumpkin Festival.
    On Saturday, the festival kicks off at the site of the former elementary school on Route 11 with a costume parade for children at 1 p.m. Pumpkin carving, face painting, carriage rides, a hay maze and bouncy house will also be available.
    Katahdin High School will have booths to raise money for different school organizations and will be on hand to help carve pumpkins. Katahdin Middle School students will also be bringing their carved pumpkins to display.
    “Last year, the festival was held at the Sherman Park which is owned by the Washburn Memorial Church,” said Linda Smith, event organizer. “It rained hard and was very cold that day. After tracking down heaters for the band, tents and tarps, we did it and people came. They didn’t stay too long because of the weather, but we had a nice turnout.”
    This year, organizers opted to relocate the pumpkin festival to Stacyville.
    From 4-6 p.m. a harvest supper will be held at the VFW Hall.
    At 5:30 p.m., a light parade with the theme of “Pumpkins and Lights” will be held. Prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place. Following the parade, the pumpkin lighting will take place.
    “We are asking all children to bring their own pumpkin to carve,” Smith said. “If they don’t want to carve it, someone will help them with it. Our original goal was to get 100 pumpkins.”
    There is no cost to attend the pumpkin festival.