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Jon Carey
Equinox Staff
In society, people are to follow a set of commandments; rules and morals created in order to keep peace within the community. The same could be said about this year’s annual Pumpkin Festival. Those who attend are advised to keep the “seven saving graces” in mind so the festivities can occur with little disruption.
Ruth Sterling of Sterling Design & Communications and Pumpkin Fest’s new manager created the “Don’t Lose Your Head” campaign in an effort to restore peace and safety to the Pumpkin Festival.
Recently, Sterling created what are called the “seven deadly sins” of Pumpkin Fest, which target the seven major issues pertaining to the festival based on the arrest report from last year. Along with tackling these major issues, Sterling created a Face-Off Forum where students and police will meet to find common ground dealing with the festival.
The seven deadly sins are as follows: thou shall not drink underage; thou shall not assault thy neighbor; thou shall not disturb the peace; thou shall not urinate in public; thou shall not smash pumpkins; thou shall not drive drunk; and thou shall not have open containers of alcohol in public.
Sterling said these guidelines can only help in regulating the surrounding areas of the festival and keep order for the entire event. “If those who attend avoid committing these sins then we can save the Pumpkin Fest and make sure it comes back year after year. We have three years to get this festival back on track, or we have to discontinue due to the damaging aftermath from parties,” Sterling said.
Along with creating the seven deadly sins, Sterling counteracted and fashioned together the “seven saving graces,” tips to help respect and regulate the rules in order to keep Pumpkin Fest safe for all. “If we can all stick to these guidelines and do our part to make this day special for everyone then we won’t have to worry about canceling the festival. It’s on us. It’s our responsibility to choose who to invite and make sure those who don’t go to school in Keene are made aware of specific rules,” Sterling said.
The first “saving grace” to follow is if you invite guests from off-campus or from out-of-state, invite one guest and only one guest. Research shows that a best friend is less likely to make trouble than friends of friends.
Keep gatherings indoors and limit the number of guests to those you know and have an ID proving they are 21-years of age or older.
The third tip is to stock up on party food such as pizza or cheese and crackers. Parties with great menus tend to be the parties with the fewest arrests.
Outside, act as if your grandmother were in the houses you pass by and try not to wake or upset her. The grandmother rule can keep everyone out of trouble and a lot of neighbors happy.
Another saving grace is to volunteer to help with the festival or to clean up the neighborhoods afterward.
Join the Facebook group, “Help! Don’t cancel the Keene Pumpkin Fest,” started by a KSC college student.
Lastly, attend a Face-Off Forum where students, police, and other residential officials meet together to find common ground dealing with festival issues.
Roger Weinreich, a former Boston firefighter, said the town is working on assembling a clean-up crew to help with the aftermath of the festival. “We want to establish authority for during the festival so if anyone causes a disturbance we have officials to talk to them and resolve the issue,” Weinreich said.
Weinreich also said if such authority were to be assembled, they wouldn’t have the same capabilities as the Keene Police Department or Keene Fire Department. “We don’t want to see people getting arrested or hurt; it would just be people in orange vests who engage with attendants who again are causing disturbances,” Weinreich said.
Sterling hopes the festival doesn’t get carried away within the surrounding neighborhoods as residents have been getting together to talk about the noise complaints in certain housing areas where college students live. “Neighbors get together at the Bentley Commons, a retirement complex, to discuss their concerns with noise complaints that keep them up due to college partying,” Sterling said.
Students who live off campus said the noise does get out-of-hand sometimes, but that’s what happens when you’re surrounded by off-campus housing.
Amy Battey, a KSC senior who lives off campus, stressed that people don’t take into consideration who’s living around them and that’s a major issue. “The streets of Keene are bad enough on a simple Thursday night, to think that Pumpkin Fest is going to be even worse should concern a lot of people,” Battey said. “Residents who don’t go to school are living right in the middle of the party streets and people should take that into consideration when roaming the streets during the festival.”
Sterling wants student to know that the Face-Off Forum is recruiting anyone who wishes to help, but space is limited. You can go on the Pumpkin Fest website, www.pumpkinfest2011.org, and register to help keep the peace.
If you have any questions concerning the Pumpkin Festival of 2011, Ruth Sterling can be contacted by email at www.SterlingDes.com
“Our goal is for everyone to wake up on Oct. 23, 2011 and be happy with each other and the overall success of the festival. Students literally have the opportunity to save this wonderful tradition and I think everyone has the ability to contribute and make this event something special,” Sterling said.
Jon Carey can be contacted at jcarey1@ksc.mailcruiser.com.