Laconia Pumpkin Festival organizers: Event safe, successful

LACONIA — Councilor Bob Soucy (Ward 2) praised the Laconia Pumpkin Festival at Monday’s city council meeting, saying there were no issues to speak of at an event that drew in tens of thousands.

“Our initial estimate, as far as attendance, is probably somewhere between [25,000] and 30,000 people, which is enormous for the City of Laconia,” Soucy said. “Gives us great exposure all over, I hope, all over New England. And, as I’ve always said, I want to make this more of a destination than just an event.”

Soucy gave a shout out to Parks and Recreation Director Amy Lovisek, as well as Economic and Housing Development Director Joia Hughes and Executive Assistant Nancy Brown, for their work organizing the event.

“Without those three ladies, we wouldn’t have been anywhere,” Soucy said.

He also praised the public works department for their hard work setting up and taking down, as well as the police department for handling the crowd.

This was the first major event downtown held after adoption of the social district, and the city enlarged its footprint and increased its hours to accommodate. Aside from “a couple offshoots,” he said there were no incidents.

“I talked to one of the liquor commissioners that was in town, and no incidents whatsoever,” he said. “As you know, the city sells stickers to put on the cups. We sold 10,000 stickers, and I know that some of the places ran out of beer. We didn’t see a single person inebriated in any way, or any incidents in that way.”

Soucy said it wasn’t just the main event on Saturday that drew in crowds, noting an estimated 8,000 people were downtown Friday night, shopping vendors and listening to tunes. He said the city has already heard from vendors who want to sign up again for next year.

“We have a pile of things to work on to try to make more improvements,” Soucy said. “Parking for one, and maybe a little more porta potties and stuff like that, OK? And try to do a little bit different in traffic management. Other than that, everybody is happy. I didn’t hear any complaints at all.”

Soucy heard from downtown store owners they had a successful weekend. Events like the rubber duck race went well, as the city planned for 600 ducks, and ended up getting 800 ducks. He said it was a great collaboration between the city and the Belknap Mill. The city worked with the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Fund for the 50/50 raffle.

“The Colonial Theatre did a great job Friday night,” Soucy said. “Saturday night they did well. The laser show was just great. Compared to fireworks, I thought it was awesome.”

Planning has already begun for 2027, and Soucy asked anyone with ideas to share them with City Hall.

Mayor Mike Bordes concurred with Soucy’s statements, calling it a “fantastic Pumpkinfest."

“Tons of people, no issues that I know of or saw,” Bordes said. “It was just a good time. I did get tons of compliments and recognition for our social district, which everybody loved and enjoyed. What I noticed and observed were people were drinking responsibly, and they were just out having a good time with their families.”

Residents Sue Higgins and Doreen Richards spoke highly of the event during the public comment section. Richards said it was “really nice to have” and “well attended." Higgins saw people there who she hadn’t seen in 20 years, as they were using this as a reason to come back to the city.

“Job well done,” Higgins said.

Lovisek echoed what Soucy and Bordes said in an interview Tuesday, saying everyone was on their best behavior, and drank responsibly.

“It was our biggest event with the social district, and there were no major issues,” she said.

Lovisek said the weather was clearly on their side, and people were visibly happy walking around enjoying the event throughout the day. She agreed on Soucy’s reported attendance estimate.

“We had neighbors, Floridians, Virginians, people from near and far,” Lovisek said. “All over the place.”

Lovisek said it was “heartwarming” to know the festival went “off without a hitch,” and she thanked people for taking to social media to post pictures and rave about this year’s event.

“There was glowing praise on Facebook, and we thank people very much for that,” she said. “Even just writing it down to see what they’re saying is great, so we know how the community feels.”

Lovisek said she learned “quite a bit” this year, and while there are little things to adjust, they were little things festivalgoers likely didn’t notice. One thing they'll likely tinker with is the shuttle system. It worked well, and there's a good chance another shuttle will be added next year. 

When talking to the vendors, she said they reported it was successful financially for them.

“The city manager and I were talking about it; we couldn’t determine when the busiest time of the day was, because it was always busy,” Lovisek said. “There was never a lull. It was a busy day, and it was fabulous.”