ORANGE – Killer clowns, unicorns and superheroes all danced together at the inaugural Orange Pumpkin Festival Saturday.
The event, held at the White Cloud Diner across from the Orange Municipal Airport, saw dozens of families come out for the festive evening. With music and available games, young children were treated to a full evening of entertainment.
“We thought we would do something for the little kids,” said Jennifer Sheldon, co-owner of the White Cloud Diner. “There is a lot of stuff for older people and we thought there weren’t too many things for the little ones, so we tried to do something family friendly.”
Guests were treated to a beautiful but cool evening for the outdoor, indoor festival. Families chatted and chowed down on the many sweet and savory options. A barbecue cookout from “Jimmy D’s BBQ and Slow Cooking” provided smoked ribs and chicken leg quarters. Inside was a caramel apple bar with a variety of toppings and a face-painting station.
Sheldon had been preparing for weeks to organize the first-ever Orange Pumpkin Festival. The core of the young festival, and inspiration for the seasonal name, is the collection of pumpkins on display at the diner. Each of the pumpkins was decorated by a local child, ages 13 and under.
Anyone who visited the diner ahead of Oct. 26 was able to vote on their favorite pumpkin in the display. Some featured traditional designs. Others were painted as favorite characters from children’s movies. Children were even dressed up as their favorite characters like Spiderman, Star Wars Jedi knights and unicorns.
Children could enter into the costume contest which, like the pumpkin contest, was separated into three age groups; 5 and under, 6 to 10 and 11 to 13. Attendees could vote on the costumes and the evening saw three special guests filling the role of the judges: Town Coordinator Gabriele Voelker, Police Chief James Sullivan and retired Orange Police Officer Clay Rushford.
“There have been some pretty cute costumes,” Voelker said of the young competitors.
The pumpkin contest and costume contest winners were announced at approximately 7 p.m. Trophies and medals were awarded to the winning parties after the votes were all accounted for and the guest judges gave their input.
June Truehart was attending with her family and her daughter, Makinna, won first place for her pumpkin and came in third for her costume in the 5 and under category. They said she and her family had a fun evening at White Cloud Diner.
“This is one of her favorite restaurants, too,” Truehart said. “She comes here for breakfast dates with her grandfather.”
Sheldon and her husband, Bill, have owned the 1958-established White Cloud Diner since last year. Formerly Leominster residents, they said they moved to the area to a part of the community as local business owners and enjoy the small-town feel of the North Quabbin region.
After contacting both Orange and Athol town halls to discover there were very few Halloween-based festivities planned between the towns, Sheldon was inspired to create the Orange Pumpkin Festival. The pair have been brainstorming creative ideas for community events since owning the diner. This summer they held a five-day birthday celebration for the famous fictional wizard Harry Potter.
Ahead of the weekend, Sheldon said they hoped the festival would be a great way for neighbors to meet and have fun. This proved to be true of the well-attended inaugural Orange Pumpkin Festival as many residents mingled for hours before the night came to a close.
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 264.