Harvest party, total success
Struggling with his prize, this boy is carrying away his new pumpkin! (Images: Garrett Steensland)
A perfectly executed throw in the bean bag toss
KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. - The first annual Pumpkin Festival was held last weekend at the Klamath County Fairgrounds. The event provided eleven bounce houses, thirteen free activities for the kids, and a few hundred pumpkins available for purchase at a low cost.
When asked about the vision behind the event, 541 Jump owner Shane Murlin mentioned he had heard about how people are going to Medford and Grants Pass to visit pumpkin patches. “My goal was to keep people in town and to support local business in town,” he said. “Our hope was to spread the fun, and the finances within our own community.”
As people walked through the gates, laughter rang through the crowd. Children danced in a cakewalk or tested out the large variety of freeze-dried candy. Families gathered for photos, and bean bag toss competitions entertained everyone for hours. People of all ages could be heard squealing in excitement as they admired the beautiful choices of crocheted stuffed animals.
“This was one of the most fun events I have participated in," said Rose, owner of RMF Creations. "I'm definitely coming back next year."
This two-day event experienced beautiful sunny weather on Saturday, Oct. 21, which left people anticipating all this year’s fall season has to offer. Even a little rain on Sunday would not stop the community from having a memorable, fun-filled day with the family.
Mentioning the outcome of the festival that he organized, Shane said this event was "even better than he thought it would be. It was a great turnout, and I'm really pleased with how well this whole thing came together. "
“Every successful event has its financial sponsors, said Shane. “A big thank you to United Way Bank, WaFed, Keno Tractor, KLAD FM, Winema Electric, New Horizon Christian School, and Ducky Design for helping this event reach over 2,000 people in the community. Together with them, 16 business donated their time and resources to put on the free attractions, 30 local businesses gathered together to provide the community a unique variety of items for purchase, and of course, the main attraction: a vast selection of Bounce houses to provide kids with hours of entertainment.”
When asked if he planned to host another event like this next year, Shane quickly replied, “Absolutely! It will likely be in early October, though.”
