NORWICH – With the fall season comes the cool crisp autumn air, the brightly colored hillsides of the Chenango County, and all the festivities of the 16th annual Pumpkin Festival set to kick off one last community-based event of year on Friday in downtown Norwich.
Thousands are expected to make their way to East and West parks this weekend for a two-day festival in the heart of the city. In spite of the change from its traditional time – held earlier this year than ever before – organizers promise all the traditional events and expect just as big of a turnout.
“This will be our second year with the date change,” said this year’s Pumpkin Festival coordinator Tyler Oliver. “Last year was so successful with warmer weather and the highest attendance we have on record.”
The Pumpkin Festival gets underway rain or shine at 5 p.m. tonight with the annual Harvest Dinner at the United Methodist Church on North Broad Street. The first stage performance of the festival will take the spotlight shortly after in East Park, when the father-daughter duo John and Kaitlyn Jackson hit the stage at 5:30. And from 5:30-7, giant pumpkins will tip the scales during the giant pumpkin weigh-in.
As always, scaffolding will line the downtown sidewalks for anyone to show off their pumpkin carving skills, Oliver noted.
“There’s a lot of the same activities that we’ve seen in the past,” said Oliver. “We implemented some new things last year too that people really enjoyed, so we’re bringing a lot of those things back again this year.”
The festival continues with entertainment and activities throughout the day on Saturday. The morning lineup includes Irish dancers in East Park at 11 a.m., and the scarecrow and pumpkin bake-off contest from 9 a.m. to noon. Judging will begin at noon.
City streets will also be alive with horse and wagon rides through the day. Additionally, music by DJ Rhett Genung, video games form Game Time Express, palm readers, face painters, caricature artists, balloon twisters, and multiple food vendors will be in the parks throughout the day.
The Slap Stick Comedy Show takes tha main stage in East Park from noon to 12:40 p.m., followed by the fall “fury friends” pet costume contest at 1 p.m.
At 12:45, kids get to explore the fun side of science with the Mad Science Show, and a 1:30 children’s tractor pull will put their braun to the test.
Saturday afternoon rounds out with a number of stage performances. The Donna Frech Dancers will have the spotlight at 2 p.m., the Woodshed Prophets at 4 p.m., Kaitlyn Jackson and the Hometown Band at 5:45 p.m., and Tumbleweed Highway at 7:30 p.m.
Fireworks will bring the festival to a close at 9 p.m., followed by the annual “Pumpkin Pub Crawl” for the over 21 crowd.
“This has always been a kid-friendly event, but we want some of the older generations to get involved as well. We came up with the Pumpkin Pub crawl to target some of the people who don’t show up during the day,” said Oliver.
Proceeds of the pub crawl will directly the Pumpkin Fest committee in planning next year’s festival. Participating businesses include the Blarney Stone Pub, the Broad Street Tavern, Rita’s Lounge, and Park Place Sports Bar.
Although Pumpkin Fest has become more of a community event and less of an attempt to shatter the record for most pumpkins collected, people are still encouraged to bring their pumpkin for display on the scaffolding in West Park, said Oliver.
“There’s always been a huge amount of community support for this,” he added. “We’re a small group that puts this (event) together, but we’re very dedicated to carrying on this Norwich tradition.”
The 16th annual Pumpkin Festival is coordinated through collaborative efforts of volunteers and the Norwich Business Improvement District. Sponsors include NBT Bank, Visions Federal Credit Union, Flannagan Charitable Trust, Martin Dietrich, Silver Pumpkins, Chobani, and Chenango Welding Supply.
For a complete list of events and more information, visit norwichpumpkinfestival.com.