First-time ‘PumpkinPalooza’ added to Scarecrow Fest at fairgrounds

Provided photos: (Left) Pumpkins can be decorated with simple natural elements like this one designed by Master Gardener Kristina Gabalski. (Right) Master Gardener Lisa Lancaster with her big pumpkin and a scarecrow – ready for fall!

Contributed by Katie Oakes, Orleans County CCE Master Gardener Coordinator

KNOWLESVILLE – Orleans County CCE Master Gardeners will host the first-ever PumpkinPalooza pumpkin contest at this year’s Medina Lions Club Scarecrow Fest on Oct. 14.

The contest welcomes entries from the public in three categories – Biggest Pumpkin (by circumference), Best Decorated Pumpkin, and Best Carved Pumpkin. Master Gardener volunteers will be on site to judge the entries, and there will be prizes for each category winner.

Pumpkins can be dropped off at the side door of the Lartz building (close to the pie plate) between 9 and 11 a.m. Judging will be immediately after drop-off closes, and winners will be announced at 2 p.m. All participants must collect their pumpkins at the close of the Scarecrow Fest at 3 p.m.

The Highway Department decorated a pumpkin for the annual Family Game Night.

The idea for the contest came to Master Gardeners Lisa Lancaster and Erica Joan Wanecski while they were sitting at the Master Gardener table at the Canal Village Farmer’s Market over the summer.

They were handing out gardening information and free seeds when a customer came up to share his experience growing a giant pumpkin the previous season. Erica and Lisa wondered how many other gardeners or creative decorators might want to showcase their own masterpieces in the community.

They decided a friendly pumpkin competition was the perfect way to allow the public to display their works of art or gardening prowess. This will be the first pumpkin-themed event for the Master Gardeners, and if it goes well, they’d love to see it continue as an annual tradition.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing people’s creativity, in decorating and also in carving, ” said Lisa Lancaster, chairperson of the event for the Master Gardener program. “Pumpkins are such a universal symbol of autumn that this is a way to celebrate the season even more!”

It seemed a natural fit to host the Pumpkinpalooza event in conjunction with the Medina Lions Club Scarecrow Festival on the second Saturday of October. The Scarecrow Fest is hugely popular, with hundreds of local families showing up to make their own scarecrow.

When Katie Oakes, coordinator of the Master Gardener volunteers in Orleans County, reached out to Jim Hancock, co-chair of the event for the Lions Club, to ask if they would allow the Pumpkinpalooza as an add-on to their traditional festival, the answer was an emphatic “yes!” from the board.

“We’re hoping to draw some new people and reach a wider audience,” explained Erica Joan Wanecski, chairperson of the Master Gardener program. “The more activities that are present at the Scarecrow Fest, the longer people will stay and the more fun they will have!  We’re hoping the Pumpkinpalooza can benefit everyone.”

Anyone entering a pumpkin in the category of “Biggest Pumpkin” must be able to transport the pumpkin themselves – there will be no equipment available to move large pumpkins.  One prize will be given to the winner of each category – winner need not be present to win.  Please contact Katie Oakes at 585-798-4265 ext 125 or klo54@cornell.edu with any questions on Pumpkinpalooza or the Master Gardener program.