(PHOTO: Some very creative carvings at the 2016 Pumpkin Parade at Village Square Park. Photo by Barry Gray.)
“I wanted to show that to my kids — that people who live in a community aren’t just residents in the community, they’re participants in the community.”
The 5th Annual Stittsville Pumpkin Parade is happening the day after Halloween on Wednesday, November 1 at Village Square Park.
Drop off your pumpkin starting at 5pm. Electric candles are provided. The most creative pumpkins could win prizes in one of three categories. Pumpkins will be composted at the end of the night. Donations to the Stittsville Food Bank accepted. The event runs from 6pm-7:15pm.
Prizes up for grab this year were donated by Brown’s, Tracy’s Art Studio, Altitude Gym, Extreme Trampoline, and Covered Bridge Brewing.
The event is organized by Trevor Eggleton with help from community volunteers. He started the event five years ago after moving here from Vancouver. Last year’s event featured about 700 or 800 pumpkins.
“I felt like Stittsville was the kind of community where its residents could have an impact,” he says. “I wanted to show that to my kids — that people who live in a community aren’t just residents in the community, they’re participants in the community.”
He heard about a similar pumpkin parade in Toronto, and decided to start it up in Stittsville.
“I feel like i just facilitate it. I just put it on. People bring out their jack-o-lantern and I’m just a facilitator of the community spirit,” he says. “The more I do it the more people want to help me do it. As it gets bigger it somehow gets easier.”
