Pumpkin Festival seeds future tourism

LACONIA — As the city prepares to host the annual New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival for the fourth time on Oct. 12 and 13, it has become clear that many local businesses see a boost from the crowds who will come to enjoy a family-friendly fall street festival.

“I think it’s a phenomenal opportunity for the whole community, it brings a tremendous amount of cameraderie among business owners, and people from all over the world,” said Dave Henrick, owner of The 405 Pub and Grill, and Lakeside Famous Roast Beef and Pizza, both in Laconia.

Henrick also manages the beer tent for the Pumpkin Festival. Last year, the festival drew an estimated 40,000 people to downtown Laconia.

“It’s a win-win for everyone, from gas stations to hotels, it’s a great thing,” Henrick said.

His businesses see a significant boost during the weekend of the pumpkin festival, and he gets to market his food and service to the thousands who visit the beer tent that goes up downtown.

The tent was limited to a capacity of 250 last year, which quickly filled up. This year the tent will be larger, and will accommodate at least 100 more people.

While Henrick’s bottom line is well served by the festival, his appreciation of the event, which started in Keene and moved to Laconia in 2015, is based on something less quantifiable.

“It is a great representation for the city of Laconia to host an event like that to see what Laconia is about,” said Henrick. “It’s great to showcase the city of Laconia. Everywhere, it’s great for – especially for – the local businesses downtown. For people to take advantage of that, it’s great. It’s a win-win for everybody, especially for the community.”

Justin Cutillo, whose family owns the Steele Hill Resorts in Sanbornton, The Summit Resort at The Weirs, and the Center Harbor Inn, said their accommodations businesses offers a Pumpkin Festival package, with a discount for a two-night stay and a pumpkin that guests can carve. They will get a handful or two bookings through that package, Cutillo said.

“We have found that to be pretty effective in moving rooms during that weekend,” said Cutillo. But the value, to him, is that it adds one more item on the list of things to do in the Lakes Region.

“From a hospitality standpoint, it definitely does draw some people to the area,” he said. “It’s nice to have touchpoints to show that we have things going on in the Lakes Region. It gives us another talking point when you’re trying to find reasons to promote the area.”

October is already a busy month for the Mill Falls at the Lake properties, according to Joe Ouellette, director of sales and marketing. The Meredith lodgings businesses are hopping due to the peak of conference, wedding and foliage season.

The vast majority of Mill Falls guests came for one of those reasons – but they’ll leave knowing about Pumpkin Festival.

“The Pumpkin Festival has brought an additional layer to the region. Having another unique New England experience is a good thing,” Ouellette said. “Those are the things that we need and want more of, as we see these kinds of events gain traction, they have a unique way of reaching out that we as businesses can’t individually.”

That’s what Melissa Leclerc, manager at The Broken Spoke in Laconia, sees. During this year’s Pumpkin Festival, The Broken Spoke will host its 2nd Annual Pumpkin Toss contest. Last year’s event brought in a few more patrons than they usually have at this time of year – but it was a different kind of guest, she said.

“It was family-oriented, definitely a family event. Us being a biker bar, we don’t get too much of that. It was fun, it was different,” Leclerc said.

The Broken Spoke is one of the few businesses in The Weirs that will stay open year-round. Leclerc hopes that some of the people brought to Laconia for the Pumpkin Festival will show up again at the Broken Spoke in the coming months, maybe for live music every weekend or karaoke on Thursdays.

“I like that we’re doing the Pumpkin Festival now instead of Keene," Leclerc said. "Towns like Laconia and Franklin have a bad rep because of the opioid crisis, I like events like this, because it helps bring us back. It’s a beautiful area, we’ve got the lake and great little businesses around, it’s a great area to visit.”