ORANGE — Get pumped for pumpkins.
The inaugural Orange Pumpkin Festival will be held on Saturday from 5 to 8 p.m., at White Cloud Diner across from Orange Municipal Airport. A rain date has been set for the next day, Sunday, also from 5 to 8 p.m.
The event is free — although food from the diner must be paid for — and will be held both outside and indoors, featuring a barbecue cookout, a costume contest, face-painting and games, and a caramel apple bar.
“Get together, know your neighbors, go to these small fall festivals,” said Jennifer Sheldon, festival organizer and co-owner of White Cloud Diner.
Another part of the Orange Pumpkin Festival — and the reason for its name — is the collection of pumpkins decorated by local youth and on display at the diner. There are 17 pumpkins decorated uniquely that “everybody is voting on,” Sheldon said.
The pumpkins were recently decorated by children ages 13 and under, and people who visit the diner before Oct. 26 can vote on their favorite pumpkins. Some pumpkins are traditional, with spooky or smiling faces, others pay homage to characters in children’s movies like “Monsters, Inc.,” and some barely resemble pumpkins anymore — like a teddy bear made out of several pumpkins stuck together. Trophies will be awarded to winners.
According to Sheldon, the idea for the festival came to her after contacting Orange and Athol town halls, and discovering there was not much planned in terms of Halloween festivities. Also, even though it isn’t Halloween-themed, the autumn Celebrate the Harvest Parade did not happen this year due to a lack of volunteers.
“We kept trying to think of things to get the town together,” Sheldon said. “There’s no (other) underlying reason to do it.”
Sheldon and her husband, Bill, became the new owners of the 1958-established White Cloud Diner last year. Formerly Leominster residents, Sheldon and her husband deliberately liked the small-town feel of the North Quabbin region, and specifically Orange. So, they moved and became a part of the community as local business owners.
“We absolutely love it here,” said Sheldon, adding that events like the Orange Pumpkin Festival are a way to give back and invest in the community.
“Being able to own a small business in town has been wonderful. You get to meet the people here, and any way we can give back, I want to be able to,” she said. “If everybody did a little (in the community), it makes a big difference.”
Since operating the diner, Sheldon said they have continuously looked for ideas and ways to throw fun events for locals — including in the form of a five-day birthday celebration for fictional wizard Harry Potter over the summer.
“We want to embrace the small-town things,” she said, noting the festival is a great way for neighbors to meet and have fun. If the Orange Pumpkin Festival is a success this year, Sheldon said she’ll make it bigger and better next year.
Reach David McLellan at dmclellan@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 268.