KENOVA ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥” About 1,500 pumpkins were delivered to the Pumpkin House on Monday, marking the start of its annual autumn transformation. The rest of the gourds will arrive over the next two weeks.
Volunteers are welcome to come Oct. 19-25 to scoop and carve the pumpkins that will adorn the house on Beech Street. The goal will be to scoop, carve, rinse, place and light 500 pumpkins each day to have all 3,000 lit for the main day of C-K AutumnFest, which is Oct. 26. Carving is a volunteer opportunity for individuals, families, church groups and sports teams; everyone is welcome.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œItÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s quite a marathon, but it always seems to work out and the volunteers are wonderful to help us get it done,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ said Ric Griffith, owner of the Pumpkin House.
The pumpkins come from Rocky Knob Farm in Prichard, West Virginia. Jason Ekers, owner of the farm, said growing almost any crop was difficult this year because of the drought, but he said they focused on making sure the pumpkins were successful because he knows Griffith is counting on them. They also hand-wash all the pumpkins with bleach water before delivering them to prolong their display life by preventing disease. It also makes them look nicer, he said.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWhen you get 50,000 people visiting what you grew this year, you definitely want to have the best that you can have, Ekers said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œThereÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s a lot of pride that goes with it.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥
Some pumpkins will sit on a wall around the Pumpkin House, to be coordinated with lights and music. The wall is 48 feet long and 11 feet high.
Members of the Spring Valley High School baseball team helped move the wall out of storage and set it up at the Pumpkin House on Monday. Spring Valley students will also help carve some pumpkins at school and transport them to the display.
Film director and writer Erik Bloomquist, two-time New England Emmy Award winner, plans to film scenes for his next movie at the Pumpkin House this year. Griffith said that there are more details to come, but Bloomquist approached him last summer about shooting some scenes there.
ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œEach year with the Pumpkin House, it seems something new and unusual occurs, and apparently a ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ movie will be this yearÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s twist,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Griffith said.
Food vendors will be open at the Pumpkin House from 5-10 p.m. nightly Oct. 24-27. The display will remain lit through Oct. 31.
Griffith said the Pumpkin House welcomed visitors from 24 countries and 45 states in 2023. Meeting people from all over the world is one of the best parts of the Pumpkin House, he said, adding that a lot of people donÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t realize that real pumpkins are carved for his display.
