The pumpkins are coming, the pumpkins are coming

LACONIA — Following months of preparation, New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival's dedicated organizers are looking forward to another successful iteration of the new Lakes Region tradition. 

Pumpkinfest, the annual event which celebrates all aspects of fall fun, is set to return this weekend. This year, the event is decidedly broader than ever, expanding through the Weirs all the way to Meredith. 

Four massive pumpkin towers, a staple of the event and a new regional icon, were in the final stages of their building on Monday morning. Event organizers were patiently awaiting the arrival of 1,500 pumpkins to downtown, which in turn are expected to attract thousands of locals and visitors to the city. 

“They’re looking great,” Lakes Region Chamber President Karmen Gifford said Monday morning. “It’s actually going to be really busy.”

There are nearly 200 vendors expected to set up shop through the weekend, an aspect of the festival Gifford said was challenging — in a good way. 

“Every inch of downtown is filled,” she said. “It’s been a challenge, like a puzzle.”

The official lighting of the pumpkin towers will take place on Saturday at dark with Mayor Andrew Hosmer in attendance. A map of the downtown area, including the locations of the pumpkin towers, is available on the festival website at nhpumpkinfestival.com.

And members of the community are encouraged to participate in decorating the towers. Those interested in contributing a pumpkin or two can register online to bring them down through Friday. Volunteers will be onsite to help unload the festive jack-o-lanterns. Visitors will be able to marvel at the festive towers for a while, too — they’re staying up through Halloween.

This year’s festival is particularly notable owing to its inclusion of areas outside downtown, including both Lakeport and the Weirs. There’s a Halloween-themed display planned for Lakeport Square and trees along Union Avenue were already strewn with jack-o-lantern decor by Monday morning. 

Businesses in the Weirs are contributing a lot to this year’s festival. A Halloween costume party at 603 Sweets, Meats & More, events at the Winni Rum Shack, The Looney Bin Bar & Grill and at Funspot, a masquerade ball on the M/S Mount Washington, haunted scenic tours aboard The Spirit and karaoke with guest judge Afroman at The Big House are just a sampling of what’s in store for visitors there. The fun will spread further than before, reaching Meredith and Gilford with events at Mill Falls, Moulton Farm and Beans & Greens. 

A full list of events across all participating locations can be found on the festival website's agenda section. 

“Our goal was to market and promote anything that the businesses wanted to do,” Gifford said. 

Organizers are still accepting registrations for the cornhole tournament outside Hector's Fine Food & Spirits downtown. Check-in is set for 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26; bags fly at noon. 

The event will be punctuated by the appearance of the nut mobile of Planters Peanuts fame. The mobile will appear on Main Street downtown from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. A highlight for residents, the long-awaited return of The Defiant One will be capped off with an unveiling at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at Opechee Park. 

“We’re ready,” Gifford said. “We just finished up mapping out all of the vendors.”

Between adding new vendors, bringing other areas of the Lakes Region into the fold and hosting the nut mobile, this year’s festival is sure to be one for the record books. 

“We’re bringing more than we have in the past,” Gifford said.