Planting seeds for pumpkin festival

[ Originally published on: Saturday, October 31, 2009 ]

MONTAGUE -- Every fall, Michael Nelson and his friends head to the Keene, N.H., Pumpkin Festival.

''Every year, we say 'it's such a long drive,''' he said. ''But, it's so cool, we have to keep doing it.''

This year, they came up with a solution to their problem. ''This year, we said, 'let's bring one to Montague.'''

And so Nelson has set to work to bring a pumpkin festival to downtown Turners Falls in October 2010.

Like seeing all the luminaries lit at the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life fundraiser, seeing thousands of illuminated pumpkins is a breathtaking sight, he said.

''The glowing of the candles ... it's just an incredible feeling. It's so beautiful and it's a great way to bring the community together.''

The straight, tree-lined Avenue A, with Peskeomskut and Unity parks nearby, is an ideal place to display pumpkins and have a festival, he said.

''I think it's a great way to showcase the community with thousands of pumpkins lining the avenue because where else do you see that?''

For the full version of this story, you may purchase The Recorder electronically, by returning to the home page and clicking under ''E-Edition'' on the right side of your screen, or you can purchase the print edition, which is available throughout Franklin County, Massachusetts.

 

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