The 6th Annual Ballard Park Pumpkin Tour was the largest and most successful to date with 4,500 people taking in displays of nearly 1,200 pumpkins on Saturday, October 18, 2008. The tour also ran smoothly thanks to the assistance of many volunteers and members of the Newport Police Department who shut down the roadway in front of the park to traffic allowing for easy access.

Preparation for each Pumpkin Tour begins months in advance but really heats up two weeks prior to the event when Friends of Ballard Park delivers hundreds of pumpkins to local schools and social service agencies. The pumpkins are here!” is a frequent cheerful cry we hear as we pull up in the truck. Informal polls in schools indicate that 80% of children have never carved a jack-o-lantern before. Sponsorships allowed Friends of Ballard Park to buy nearly 700 pumpkins this year. Elementary school administrators organization After School Carving parties which are attended by parents while teachers at the high school utilize the pumpkins for lessons in art and logo design.

On the morning of the tour, people arrive with their cars, trucks and vans filled to the brim with jack-o-lanterns and artistically carved pumpkins. Volunteers and workers help unload and set up displays.

About a half hour prior to the tour opening the public arrived eager to enter the park. By 4:35 138 people had already begun touring. Children also enjoyed touring the Newport Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Trailer where they learned to “stop, drop and roll” in the event of a fire -- a great tie in to National Fire Prevention Week.

Many thanks to the sponsors, volunteers, carvers it the best one yet! And, a special thanks to members of the Newport Police & Fire Department for ensuring the safety of all participants