Fiske Quad was packed with students and staff in costumes for the decade-old Halloween tradition of Pumpkin Palooza on Friday, Oct. 31. Students carved award-eligible pumpkins and visited tables put on by various clubs from 2-5 p.m. as part of the event.
The event was hosted by KSC Student Government, which put together plenty of amenities, such as music from WKNH and free food and beverages from KSC Dining. Students could grab a free t-shirt and some carving supplies from the Student Government table before dispersing throughout the quad.
Student Body President Kylie Nelson talked about the payoff that organizers felt after setting up food, shirt designs, the pumpkins and fun activities for everyone.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun, and I think it’s worth it,” Nelson said.
Senior Matthew Sturtevant is an outreach officer for the Make-A-Wish club at Keene State, one of the many clubs that lined up along the walkways of the event. The table Sturtevant worked at had its own costume theme with its own activity for event goers.
“We went with a Mario Kart theme for Halloween and we got a piñata, a yellow question mark that Mario hits when he jumps in the air,” said Sturtevant.
The Social Activities Council (SAC) had a table close by, offering up a mix of activities for attendees. President of SAC, senior Kerrin Shea, spoke on their setup. “We put together a table that has some raffles for a $20 gift card if you can guess the weight of a pumpkin, as well as a spin on the wheel which offers candy and basic Halloween treats,” Shea said, “we’re just hoping to take sign-ups and make the community enjoy it.”
While the pumpkin carving was the main attraction of the event, these clubs and their tables brought the KSC community out for the big day. One student, junior Elizabeth Goldberg, has attended Pumpkin Palooza three years in a row, and said they loved what the event brings each year.
When asked what brought Goldberg to the Quad for a third time, they said, “The free pumpkin carving and how you get to meet all of the different clubs. The setup is nice because we have multiple pumpkins and we have matts to sit on to carve them this year.”
Nelson talked about the set up for Pumpkin Palooza being one of the changes for the 2025 event. “We tried to move everything to the center of the quad so people feel more inclusive and like we are all like together, and this year we have a psychic reader,” Nelson said.
2025 Pumpkin Palooza landed on the spookiest day of the year and brought out the KSC and Keene community to carve and celebrate. Pumpkin carvers submitted their works for the competition, where the winners were awarded $50 Amazon gift cards.
“It’s super fun, I think it’s stable. It is an event that happens every single year and that people can constantly look forward to, and that makes it really exciting for people,” said Shea.
Jacob Enscoe can be reached at
jenscoe@kscequinox.com
