Enjoy a Day Filled with Fun at the Blackwood Pumpkin Festival

The sounds of live entertainment and laughter, the sights of children painting pumpkins, and the smells of delicious treats like kettle corn will greet visitors to the 24th annual Blackwood Pumpkin Festival presented by Mainstage Center for the Arts (MCA). Due to the uncertainty of the weather the weekend of October 2-4, the festival will now place Sunday, October 11, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.around the area of MCA’s -Academy Hall, 27 S. Blackhorse Pike. Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, Econsult Solutions; Bansky Expert Tree Service; Today’s Shopper, and Elauwit Media, are the primary sponsors of this event.

Each year, the festival draws thousands of visitors to downtown Blackwood to enjoy family activities, shopping, food, and live entertainment. The family activities include: pumpkin painting, amusements, games, moon bounce, pony rides, face painting, carnival games in the MCA Midway, a scarecrow building station, and more. In addition, the festival offers a great variety of food , with vendors offering something for every taste.
“This year’s event includes so many of the fun traditions that folks enjoy year after year. The addition of the scarecrow building last year was a big hit. Everyone’s excited to have that back with more scarecrows available,” said Anne Marie Weaver. “We appreciate all those who visit the Pumpkin Festival, which raises funds for Mainstage’s year-round performing arts programs.”

Those programs include Harmony, high school show choir; Encore, middle school show choir, and the Mainstage School of Dance; who are all performing at the festival. Other entertainers include the Pine Barons s barbershop chorus, country singer Sherry Lynn, and Cherry Hill High School East Mimes. For others who like to get in on the act, there’s a talent contest, costume parade/contest, and pumpkin carving contest. Here are details for entering the contests.

· Costume Parade/Contest – sponsored by Bounce U of Blackwood, for those up to age 12, 11:30 am and 1:15 p.m., in the park in the center of East Railroad Ave. Register 15 minutes before the contest of your choice at the Mainstage Information Booth also located in the center of East Railroad Ave.

· Talent Contest– · performances will be assigned between 11:30 – 3:00 pm. Participants must pre-register by September 30. For details about registration, please visit http://mainstage.org/about/pumpkin-festival/

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· Pumpkin Carving Contest, sponsored by Castor Auto and Truck Repair– please bring already carved or decorated field-grown pumpkins to Harwin Park, which is next to Rite Aid on the Black Horse Pike between noon and 2 p.m.

· House Decorating Contest, sponsored by Royal Bank America, this contest is open to residents in the area around the Blackwood Pumpkin Festival. Registration information will be hand-delivered to their houses on Saturday, September 20.

Since parking in downtown Blackwood fills up quickly, free parking with a free shuttle bus service to the festival is available at Highland Regional High School, 450 Erial Road, Blackwood, NJ 08012.

In addition to the primary sponsors listed above, the Pumpkin Festival is sponsored by: Yale School; Pat’s Pizza; Bowman and Company, LLP; Joseph W. Bowley; CPA; Beneficial Bank; Castor Auto & Truck Repair; Comegno Law Group, PC; PostNet; Preferred Party Rentals; Southjersey.com; Drs. Sullivan & Turner LLC; Mayor David Mayer and Gloucester Township Town Council; Senator Madden, Assemblyman Moriarty, Assemblywoman Mosquera; Bounce U; McDonald’s (Gloucester Township); DPI of Cherry Hill; Sign & Design; Space Mart; Chews Florist; Rite Aid; Sports Specialties; Valleybrook Country Club; Blackwood West Development; Blackwood Lake Development, Township of Gloucester; Gloucester Township Chamber of Commerce; Camden County Regional Chamber of Commerce; Camden County College; Gloucester Township Rotary Public Library; Gloucester Township Public Schools, Black Horse Pike Regional School District: New Jersey State Council on the Arts; and theNational Endowment for the Arts.

All proceeds from the 24thAnnual Blackwood Pumpkin Festival benefit Mainstage Center for the Arts, a non-profit organization committed to providing affordable, quality arts education and entertainment for the South Jersey Community.

For more information about the event, or to rent a booth, call 856-302-6485 or visit www.mainstage.org.

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