My last Pumpkin Fest

     What is there to say about my last Pumpkin Festival here at Keene State College? Is it the sight of thousands upon thousands of pumpkins? The smells of food as far as the eye can see? Or is it the nightlife of packed bars and beer flowing like a river?

    It’s all of that and more. It’s more then just a drunken festival like a few kids told me at Lab n’ Lager on Friday night.

    This is the nineteenth annual Pumpkin Fest and it is more than just something that brings families and friends together. It’s an annual event where students at KSC write on white boards when they move in to school in August and plan to have friends from other colleges to come up and experience the merriment.

    I have been lucky enough to live around this area my whole life, so I’ve been experiencing Pumpkin Fest for as long as I can remember. Growing up in Fitzwilliam, N.H., I have been down Main Street more times than any out of state student here has been on any thirsty Thursday night.

    Now that it is my last Pumpkin Fest,, I thought I would highlight what I experienced this year at the 2009 Festival.

    Walking around the Festival I saw Batman and his old-school Bat-Mobile. I saw the entire cast of the Wizard of Oz, Dustin Pedroia of the Boston Red Sox (not actually him, but it’s close enough to Halloween.)

    I also saw plenty of Yankees fans. I promise I didn’t mingle with any of them, even though they’ll probably win the World Series this season.

    I laughed at one guy walking down the street with a live lizard on his head. There were also plenty of smells I experienced from the Festival on Main Street. From apple doughnuts, hot dogs, cheeseburgers, to Sheppard’s pie, chili and pizza, smelling these aromas was unavoidable.

    What really stood out to me was when I noticed a lot of people in Halloween costumes. There were people dressed up as everything from wizard-boy Harry Potter to Halo protagonist Master Chief.

    After walking around Main Street twice, I debated whether I should get a picture taken with Batman. I quickly scooted by the Dark Knight so I wouldn’t stop and change my mind. After absorbing the festivities on Main Street, it’s always nice to plop down on a couch for the rest of the night or at least until friends get back to sit down and drink a few beers and watch college football.

    When the sun goes down the weekend really heated up. No, I’m not trying to sing an old Kenny Chesney song. I’m telling you if you are over 21 years of age then you know what I’m talking about. On Friday I went to the bars and they were packed to an unbelievable level.

    The nightlife for Pumpkin Fest is usually the main event and where most money is spent. All I can say about the nightlife is that it was a blur this year.

    Usually when I went to Pumpkin Fest I would walk around with family and check out the glowing pumpkins, but this year being 21, and able to go into the bars ,I was able to drink with friends and get together with those I hadn’t seen in a long time. It was a fun day and night of events. It was quite a festival to end my KSC career on.

Kenny Wright can be contacted at kwright@keeneequinox.com.