Keene Pumpkin Festival Coming to Nashua?

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The Keene Pumpkin Festival ... in Nashua?

City leaders are reportedly exploring the idea.

The festival last year drew infamy when about 100 people—mostly Keene State College students—were arrested during and after a riot. Several fires were set and police used tear gas and pepper bullets to quell the crowd. Hundreds of officers from surrounding states descended on Keene to get the situation under control.

Last week, the Keene City Council denied a permit for the festival to be held again in the city. This year would be the festival’s 25th anniversary.

Now, festival organizers are exploring the possibility of still having the festival this year—in a different city.

Nashua has been mentioned as an option.

Paul Shea, director of Great American Downtown (Nashua), said he’d be willing to work with festival organizers, according to the Union Leader.

“It is such a good event that gathers a good crowd,” Shea told the Union Leader.

“Ideally, if Keene keeps its door closed, we would prefer to work with a city within driving distance so families with young children can make the trip,” festival organizer Ruth Sterling wrote in a statement.

Photo credit: lwoowllwoowl via Flickr