The annual Pumpkin Palooza was hosted by the KSC Student Government at Keene State College on October 25 from 2 to 5 p.m.
This event offered pumpkin carving, free food, music and activities for the attendees. There were 30 clubs and seven campus departments set up.
Adessa Noyes, a senior in student government, said, “I have run this event for the past 3 years. A lot of people came [this year] … I think more than last year.”
Noyes said she has loved planning and running this event and wants to encourage the underclassmen to join student government to help with these types of events and more.
Some of the other student government members in the junior class, Alexis Barrett and Erin Plummer, had set up what they described as their favorite event: “adopt a ghost.” They had mason jars, cotton balls and decorations to make and adopt glow-in-the-dark ghosts. Barrett and Plummer sat in a group of junior students carving pumpkins and enjoying the free food and music.
The event being called the “Pumpkin Lobotomy” changed to the “Pumpkin Palooza” in 2020, according to previous reporting from The Equinox. In 2015, Keene State had almost canceled this event altogether due to the uprising at the Pumpkin Fest in 2014 but decided to keep the Pumpkin Lobotomy festival to prove that Keene State was a “positive environment.”
The girl’s lacrosse team came to the event, with several of them riding the mechanical pumpkin ride.
Sophomore Brooke Diwinsky said, “The free food is awesome, but I really love watching my friends get thrown off the mechanical pumpkin … that might be my favorite part.”
The free food, made by the Dining Commons on campus, had an array of cookies, pie, cakes and dips to go with the chips it had supplied, all set up in front of the mechanical pumpkin so everyone could eat their food while watching their friends get thrown off a giant pumpkin.
Many groups of students and families spread out on the lawn, all carving the pumpkins that were offered. Sara Ethier, an attendee, spoke about her experience at the Pumpkin Palooza,
“[It was] so nostalgic, everyone sharing their pumpkins and carving together! It’s so welcoming, definitely my favorite event,” Ethier said.
Kendall Towner can be contacted at
ktowner@kscequinox.com
