The Twin Villages’ biggest party of the year is coming right up.
Beginning this coming weekend, pumpkin enthusiasts from far and wide will focus their attention on our part of the Midcoast as the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta opens with amateur and professional weigh-offs at Louis Doe’s Home Center in Newcastle.
The weigh-offs kick off a weeklong series of events headlined by the famed Pumpkinboat Regatta on Sunday, Oct. 12 and concluding with the joyous destruction that is the great pumpkin drop on Monday, Oct. 13. If you haven’t seen a gnome-operated pumpkinboat taking on frigid water or a half-ton pumpkin squashing a car to smithereens, you’re in for treat.
Between here and there are dozens of events to fit almost any pumpkin related fancy.
All of it is detailed in the Pumpkinfest guide, we are pleased to present with this edition.
Between the lines of the guide though, it possible to see that many hands are needed to make the whole thing go.
The pumpkinboat pilots may get the national headlines, but they have nothing to race if volunteers don’t get the seedlings started in the spring and then give those seedlings out of other volunteers to nurture into the giant specimens that are the stars of the festival.
Behind every Pumpkinfest there is a small army of volunteers who contribute in many different ways. Volunteers deploy the pumpkins in Damariscotta’s downtown, artists dedicate their time decorating the pumpkins, other volunteers plan and lead Pumpkinfest events, operate the shuttle bus system, and otherwise tend to the games, exhibitions, and performances that make Pumpkinfest the raucous festival that it is.
Make no mistake, there is money to made and some vendors are making it during the festival, but an overwhelming majority of participating business are donating time and resources to the process, Pumpkinfest literally couldn’t exist without them and they all deserve our thanks and appreciation.
Still, there is always more to do and there are never enough hands. Pumpkinfest is still welcoming volunteers, and as reporter Ali Juell pointed out last week, there really no better to connect to community than to get involved.
Volunteering not only instantly connects you with like-minded souls; it often provides a look behind the scenes at how something like this fascinating festival comes together.
There is still time to sign up to get involved with Pumpkinfest
To sign up or express interest in volunteering or for more information, the Pumpkinfest website has everything you need. Start the celebration here at mainepumpkinfest.com/volunteer.
