While some people were out partying in the streets and contributing to the riots that occurred this past weekend, some Keene State College students enjoyed alternative activities, walking along Main St. looking at the pumpkins during the Keene Pumpkin Festival.
Friday evening, Oct. 17, and Saturday day, Oct. 18, Keene, N.H. hosted its annual Pumpkin Festival, where people brought carved pumpkins and displayed them along Main St. for everyone to see.
According to the Keene Pumpkin Festival’s official website, “The Pumpkin Festival is a community-hosted, family-friendly celebration of fall and of what is unique about Keene and the Monadnock region. It is also a celebration of artistry and creativity and a demonstration of our area’s commitment to non-profit efforts to serve those in need.”
KSC offers fun programs for students to participate in the event and enjoy the festival, according to Brian Kanouse, a professor at KSC.
Pumpkin Lobotomy is one of the programs, where students can pick up pumpkins on the KSC quad and carve them as a whole student body.
Philip Bergeron / Graphic Design Editor
This year, more activities were arranged.
Kanouse said, “An interdisciplinary group of faculty and counseling staff came together to work on creating alternatives” for students who did not wish to drink or contribute to chaos seen this past weekend.
Kanouse said that the idea was beneficial for all students who did not wish to drink or party, but still wanted to enjoy the festival. The group let students know about these activities through flyers, emails, in-class advertisements and word-of-mouth, according to Kanouse.
“Having social events that are provided for the sake of getting to know others, sharing food and prizes, carving pumpkins, etcetera … are options that are fun in-and-of themselves. The point is to offer students alternatives to the developing lore that P-Fest is a time for complete obliteration,” Kanouse said.
Mason Prata, a resident assistant at KSC, said he was one of the students who didn’t want to drink and cause commotion.
“I participated in [Pumpkin] Lobotomy and was downtown for the Fest, as well as an RA on duty in my area. Downtown was great as it always is this time of year and seeing the pumpkins lining the streets was very uplifting,” Prata said.
Prata also said he took advantage of the activities on campus.
“I thought lobotomy was awesome. The music and the whole friendly atmosphere made it something fun and memorable,” Prata said.
Junior Alexandra Oliveri spoke of the riots on campus.
“A lot of people are going to assume that that is what Keene State is,” Oliveri said, “It’s not. There was so much to do on campus that day for kids who were not interested in drinking or flipping over cars or anything like that.”
Oliveri continued, “I was proud of the efforts by everyone who put together an alternative type of Pumpkin Fest for students. People need to see that not everyone contributed to the mess. I had a great day for that reason.”
Another student, junior Maggie Finkelstein, agreed that partying was not the only way to enjoy the Keene Pumpkin Fest.
She said, “I went downtown with some friends when all the pumpkins were lit up; it was cool seeing all the people and stuff going on.”
“Pumpkin Fest is a fantastic tradition. People shouldn’t take advantage of it,” Oliveri said.
KSC senior Molly Selvidio is a local to the area and has lived in Keene her entire life. She has been going to Pumpkin Fest for years and talked of the tradition behind it.
“Pumpkin Fest, personally, is a tradition to me since I am from Keene. This was my twenty-second Pumpkin Fest. I have always enjoyed Pumpkin Fest and do not feel I need to be out of control to enjoy it,” Selvidio said, “Downtown and the college areas seemed completely opposite. Downtown was really calm. I saw a lot of people in costumes and some cool pumpkin carvings. I met up with family and old friends; everyone was excited about the festival.”
Many students did appreciate the festival and the activities that Keene State College had to offer.
Students, faculty and the residents of Keene enjoyed Keene’s Pumpkin Fest downtown the way it is intended to be. Selvidio added, “It is an amazing time to hang out with your friends and enjoy the beautiful town.”
Eleanor Marshall can be contacted at
emarshall@keene-equinox.com
Join the conversation with #KeeneStudentsCare
