Welcome to Laconia Pumpkin Festival: More than 900 jack-o-lanterns to light up Saturday event

LACONIA — The Laconia Pumpkin Festival is upon us, and city leaders and volunteers were hard at work Friday, setting up the tower that houses 900 jack-o-lanterns, and where a laser show will ultimately close out the event in style.

Parks and Recreation Director Amy Lovisek was running around downtown wearing a reflective vest along with other city workers and volunteers, ensuring all goes according to plan for the big day. The festival kicks off at 11 a.m. and runs until 8:10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25. A major task on Friday was putting together the 34-foot tower of pumpkins next to the railroad station, which will be lit up for all to see.

That’s not all. Lovisek said there's much, much more that goes into the event.

“There are the small things you never thinking about,” Lovisek said. “Blocking off the area for porta potties. Making sure the vendors are good.

"I’m expecting a ton more than the 900 pumpkins. The Laconia schools are dropping off 800 themselves.”

Superintendent Amy Hinds said a count of 800 pumpkins, donated to city schools to carve and decorate, might even be on the low end. Cliff Grenon of Clifford Air HVAC and Refrigeration donated pumpkins to all three elementary schools this week, which were carved and transported downtown to be included in the festivities.

Foley Oil & Propane also donated 50 pumpkins for the annual Lakes Region Pumpkin Figure Contest that benefits the Lakes Region Scholarship Foundation. After the displays were voted on, the pumpkins were trucked down to the festival.

This year, Pleasant Street School won the school category, Woodland Heights was the runner up, and the Huot Career and Technical Center won the prize for “most unique.”

“It’s been a fun couple days for the kids,” Hinds said. “Anything we can do to work with community partners and get the kids out in the community is fun, and also an enhancement to what we do as a school.”

Any pumpkins not included on the tower — notably those which have been carved and decorated by the school children of Laconia and surrounding communities — will be in A-frames in its vicinity.

“It’s a way for them to show off their pumpkins to mom and dad,” Lovisek said.

Throughout Friday, city workers and volunteers helped in transporting the pumpkins from the city hall parking lot to the tower. Matt Mansur, assistant director of Parks & Rec, said people were working in shifts between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Pumpkins were steadily coming in, and when they had enough to fill a pickup truck and trailer, they were taken to the tower.

Volunteers included several employees from the Concord Hospital Health System, who will also have a booth at Pumpkinfest. Philanthropy Officer Heidi Smith said they have pitched in for the past several years for “community spirit,” and said it is “a way to give back.”

“I’m excited to see the community come out for this,” Smith said. “That’s what it’s all about.”

Koal Hurlbert of Laconia Public Works and Nick Patterson from Parks & Rec were among those in an assembly line for pumpkins being placed into the bucket of a cherry picker. That bucket also contained Alex Breton of Parks & Rec, and Tyler Smith of public works, who brought up pumpkins a dozen at a time to the highest points of the tower. At about 1 p.m., Smith looked up at the half-full tower and said, “I hear 900 fills it, so we’ve got some work to do.”

While this is the first year the city has taken the lead on the event, City Manager Kirk Beattie pointed out city staff have had plenty of involvement over the past 10 years alongside the former organizer the Lakes Region Chamber.

“With us taking over doing all the work this year, we had a committee put together, and everyone has just done an amazing job,” Beattie said. “Laconia does a good job putting on special events. We have a little bit of practice with Bike Week and concerts, and all these things that go on. We only had less than six months to put this together, and I couldn’t be more proud of what everyone has done.”

Beattie gave credit where it was due, saying Lakes Region Chamber staff did a fantastic job with past events, which helped them with direction on how to proceed this year. However, he said there are always some challenges and aspects that are just unexpected. The biggest surprise, he said, was how much physical time was spent in the planning phases.

“Things like answering phone calls from vendors, there is a lot of time put in,” Beattie said. “Some of that will get easier as years go on, but in the first year, there was so much physical time spent. But we did it. They still took care of the needs of the citizens, and as we’ll see, we are putting on a first-class event.”

Beattie paused when asked what he was looking forward to most, saying there is much on the schedule. Then it hit him: it was the music of AXIS that he's planning to rock out to on a stage outside Bank of New Hampshire.

“Come on, how do you beat that?” Beattie said. “They’re an ‘80s cover band, and I’m a kid of the ‘80s. But there are so many different events, and that is what is neat about this. Whether you are young or old, or looking forward to the pumpkins or eating, there is something for everyone who comes to this event.”

Interim Assistant School Superintendent Lisa Hinds will be among those participating in the celebrity pie-eating contest hosted by Lakes Region Community College. Lisa Hinds is the reigning champion, and hopes to retain the title. She is excited to be taking on Belmont High School Principal Matthew Finch, noting there's a bit of school rivalry taking place. Other “celebrities” in the contest will be Beattie, Fred Caruso of Mix 94.1, and Laconia mayoral candidates Mike Bordes and Bruce Cheney.

“It is a 'put your hands behind your back' contest, and you go in face first. But beyond that, our strategies are pretty cloak-and-dagger so nobody can replicate them,” Lisa Hinds said. “We were pretty quick last year.”

Lisa Hinds is excited about the event, saying the schools' involvement creates an important connection with the community.

“I think this puts a lot of eyes on Laconia,” she said. “It is a full community event, and that’s the great thing about it.”

Other events throughout Laconia Pumpkin Festival include three separate parades — one is a zombie walk — scenic train rides every hour, performances by Tara Little’s School of Dance and the Wicked Witches of the Lakes Region, cornhole, bounce houses and even belly dancing.

Pumpkinfest mostly takes place in the city’s downtown, and Beattie said city staff have worked hard at building up all its sections, but this highlights the area’s revitalization efforts.

Beattie said it is difficult to estimate an expected headcount, but by his guess, people will be coming out in droves.

“There are definitely going to be a lot of people here,” said Beattie, who added he has his fingers crossed for good weather.

As the setup day went on, Lovisek admitted it was a bit hectic. She said there are plenty of emotions someone experiences while putting on an event of this caliber, ranging from fun and exciting to nerve-wracking.

“Just need to make sure to cross the T’s and dot the I’s,” she said. “It’s going to be spectacular.”

For a complete schedule of events, log onto laconiapumpkinfestival.com.