New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival facts for kids
Quick facts for kids New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival |
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A few of the tens of thousands of pumpkins on display at the 2000 Keene Pumpkin Festival
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| Genre | Autumn, Halloween, pumpkin lighting |
| Frequency | October |
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| Inaugurated | 1991 |
| Founder | Nancy Sporborg |
| Most recent | October 27–28, 2023 |
| Next event | October 26, 2024 |
| Attendance | 40,000 (2017) |
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| Sponsor | Zippo Manufacturing Company |
The New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival is a super fun event held in Laconia, New Hampshire, United States, just before Halloween. It's also been known as the Keene Pumpkin Festival and the Laconia Pumpkin Festival. People often call it Pumpkin Fest for short!
Every year, people in New Hampshire try to gather the most lit jack-o'-lanterns in one spot. They want to beat the world record! The city of Keene, New Hampshire used to host the festival for 24 years and held the world record for a long time.
In 2014, the festival in Keene faced some challenges. Large gatherings of college students near the festival caused problems. Because of this, the Keene City Council decided not to allow the festival there the next year. So, Laconia became the new host city in 2015. The Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce took over organizing the event from 2016 onwards. A new, smaller Keene Pumpkin Festival, organized by a different group, started in 2017. The official New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival now says it began in Laconia in 2015, not Keene in 1991.
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History of the Pumpkin Festival
For its first ten years, the Keene Pumpkin Festival often set new records for the most lit jack-o'-lanterns. On October 25, 2003, they set a Guinness World Records record with 28,952 lit pumpkins! But Boston, Massachusetts, broke that record on October 21, 2006, with 30,128 pumpkins. Keene got the record back on October 19, 2013, with an amazing 30,581 lit pumpkins.
The festival organizers work hard each year to beat the record. They encourage businesses, schools, and individuals to make and donate jack-o'-lanterns. These pumpkins are then displayed on huge shelves and all over the town center. The festival also includes exciting fireworks, live music, and delicious food. People come from all over New Hampshire and nearby states to enjoy the fun. After the festival, volunteers collect the pumpkins and give them to pig farmers to use as food.
The event usually happens on a Saturday in mid-to-late October. The 2009 Keene Pumpkin Festival, held on October 17, had about 70,000 people attend. They counted 29,762 pumpkins, which was a new record for Keene, but not enough to beat the world record that year. The biggest crowd ever was in 2006, with about 80,000 visitors. That's a lot, especially since Keene's population is around 23,000!
In 2010, the original organizers, Center Stage Cheshire County, stopped running the event. This left the festival's future uncertain for 2011. Luckily, new organizers stepped in, and the Pumpkin Festival continued on October 22, 2011.
Festival Moves to Laconia
During the 2014 festival, some large gatherings of college students near the festival grounds caused problems. Because of these issues, the Keene City Council decided not to give a permit for the festival the next year. So, the organizers moved the event to Laconia, New Hampshire for its 25th year in 2015. The 25th pumpkin festival in Laconia, held on October 24, 2015, displayed 9,567 pumpkins. At the same time, a new group started the Monadnock Pumpkin Festival in Swanzey, New Hampshire, which is next to Keene. About 5,500 pumpkins were displayed there.
Let it Shine, Inc., which organized the festivals from 2011 to 2015, no longer organizes the New Hampshire Pumpkin Festival. The Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce has been the main organizer since 2016. In 2017, the Keene City Council approved a new, smaller pumpkin festival in Keene's Central Square. This festival, organized by Let it Shine, was designed to be smaller and more focused on children. It had a limit of 5,000 pumpkins and no vendors, to prevent past issues.
The 2020 festival was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Hampshire. The 2021 festival was also canceled. But don't worry, the festival returned on October 15 and 16, 2022!
Yearly Pumpkin Count Records
Here's a look at how many pumpkins were displayed each year:
- 1991 - Harvest Festival - 600
- 1992 - 1st World Record - 1,628
- 1993 - 2nd World Record - 4,817
- 1994 - 3rd World Record - 10,540
- 1995 - "Rainy Pumpkin Festival" - 9,812
- 1996 - 4th World Record - 13,044
- 1997 - 5th World Record - 13,432
- 1998 - 6th World Record - 17,693
- 1999 - Pumpkin Festival - 16,349
- 2000 - 7th World Record - 23,727
- 2001 - Pumpkin Festival - 22,633
- 2002 - "Second Rainy Pumpkin Festival" - 18,882
- 2003 - 8th World Record - 28,952
- 2004 - Pumpkin Festival - 27,584
- 2005 - "Year of the Flood" Pumpkin Festival - 22,157
- 2006 - Pumpkin Festival - 24,682
- 2007 - Pumpkin Festival - 25,644
- 2008 - Pumpkin Festival - 22,568
- 2009 - Pumpkin Festival - 29,762
- 2010 - 20th Annual Pumpkin Festival - 22,943
- 2011 - Pumpkin Festival, "Let it Shine!" - 16,186
- 2012 - Pumpkin Festival - 29,381
- 2013 - 9th World Record - 30,581
- 2014 - Pumpkin Festival - 21,912
- 2015 - 25th Pumpkin Festival (Laconia Pumpkin Fest) - 9,567
See also
- Pumpkin
- Pumpkin festival (for other fun pumpkin events)
- Pumpkin queen
