New Pumpkinfest logo designed by high school artist

LACONIA — Following a contest where city staff solicited submissions from the public, organizers of Laconia Pumpkin Festival have selected a new logo design.

Scarlett Churchill, a 16-year-old Laconia High School student, designed the winning logo, which features three pumpkins stacked atop the marquee at the Colonial Theatre downtown.  

“She was one of, I think, nine who submitted,” Laconia Director of Recreation and Facilities Amy Lovisek said on Wednesday afternoon, adding she was happy to see several submissions from Laconia students. “I kind of love that.”

The city created a contest for the new logo in February, and the committee in charge of making preparations for the festival selected the submission drawn by Churchill on Monday.

The festival attracted thousands of visitors to downtown last year.

The rules of the contest were simple: original work only, nothing generated by artificial intelligence; submissions had to prominently feature one or more pumpkins; and be family-friendly. The deadline to submit a logo design was 4 p.m. on Feb. 27. 

The contest was created after it was brought to the city’s attention the original logo design, which featured the Laconia Public Library, was generated by AI. That logo may stick around for a while, perhaps for memorabilia, Lovisek said, but the new logo is king of the castle for now. 

Of the nine submissions to the contest, five were featured on the festival’s website at laconiapumpkinfestival.com. 

This year’s festival will be larger and longer than last year’s. It begins at 4 p.m., Friday, Oct. 23, focused in the City Hall parking lot downtown, and will feature live music, food and beer vendors, and train rides on the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad, and will remain open until 10 p.m. The fun resumes at 11 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 24, until its conclusion at 10 p.m. The pumpkin tower will remain lit through the end of a laser show, which is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m., and live music and food vendors will remain until the festival's conclusion.

So far, planning is on track. They’ve nailed-down half the number of vendors which came in 2025 in total already. 

“We’re coming up with new ideas,” Lovisek said. 

But the biggest hurdle, creating a new festival logo, is one item already checked off the list. 

“The public was in agreement,” about the winning logo, Lovisek said. Though the winning logo was hand-drawn, its colors were digitally enhanced by the committee.

The contest garnered lots of public input — some 200 people cast their votes.  

“We got more than I expected, I would say,” Lovisek said.

Members of the committee — which includes Lovisek, Assistant Director of Recreation and Facilities Abby Barton, Economic Development and Housing Director Joia Hughes, Administrative Assistant Nancy Brown, Ward 2 Councilor Bob Soucy, New Hampshire Vintage Vinyl owner Dan McLaughlin, school board Chair Jennifer Anderson, and representatives from the police, fire, planning and public works departments — particularly appreciated the logo was designed by a local student. 

Churchill will receive a Laconia Pumpkin Festival “swag bag” for her work. 

“She drew it, she made it so it’s Laconia, she made it so it’s New Hampshire,” Lovisek said.