About the 9th Annual Ballard
Park Pumpkin Tour

Beautiful weather and the promise of another year of dazzling pumpkins attracted over 4,800 people to Ballard Park on Saturday, October 15, 2011 for the 9th Annual Ballard Park Pumpkin Tour.

Event goers were greeted by members of Newport Fire Department’s Station 2 who were on hand as part of National Fire Prevention Week. As parents waited in line, children explored the NFD’s Fire Prevention Trailer where they learned the “stop, drop and roll” technique used during a fire. Dressed in full gear, fire fighters taught children to crawl on the floor to find the good air and touch for hot doors in their trailer which fills with harmless smoke. Little ones also enjoyed a chance to sit on the back seat of the hook and ladder truck and interact with the firemen. The partnership with the Newport Fire Department is greatly appreciated and encourages the public to use caution with candles during the upcoming holiday season.

A new addition to this year’s Pumpkin Tour was a giant jack-o-lantern on loan from Jim & Betsy Peckham of Peckham Farms of Portsmouth. Mr. Peckham makes the smiling metal gourds. The one at Ballard Park had already made the rounds on Aquidneck Island as the Peckhams kindly loan it out to organizations holding fairs, schools and the like during the Fall season. Families were delighted to gather in front of the “great pumpkin” for a photograph before entering the tour.

This year Friends of Ballard Park relied solely on battery lit LED candles to light the 1,100+ jack-o-lanterns on display. While more expensive than candles, the LED lights ensured a safer environment for all and eliminated the need for volunteers to continuously re-light candles. Something we were thankful for as there were heavy winds this year.

Another safety-prompted change was reversing the tour. The public walked in a counter clockwise direction so that the overflow of people could line up on the closed portion of Wickham Road. Friends of Ballard Park appreciates the assistance of Newport Fire & Police personnel in managing crowd control.

Even with a shortage of pumpkins (due to Hurricane Irene) Ballard Park’s loop trail was aglow with over 1,100 jack-o-lanterns carved by local school children, social service agency clients, artists, business owners and families. Mello’s Farm & Flower Stand of Portsmouth was once again the highlight of this year’s show. Tour goers were awed by their creative collection which ran the gamut from nature-related concoctions like corn husks and butterflies to bulging eyeballs and human heads. Other noted displays included the Newport Fire Department with many fire themed pumpkins - a flashing 911, hooks & ladders and flames; the Haunted Shipyard with its spooky, nautical display; Rene & Son Carpet with classic and cleverly carved gourds and the Norman Bird Sanctuary with its tranquil, avian-inspired mass of pumpkins.

Students enrolled in David Connell’s graphics class at the Newport Area Career & Technical Center carved all of the sponsors pumpkins. The students started working on the designs two weeks before the event. This year they were challenged with many melting pumpkins meaning they had to start over and learn a valuable lesson on always having a plan b! The exercise is a great way to teach the teens about event planning, working on deadline and the myriad uses of graphic design.

Friends of Ballard Park sincerely appreciates the community support of this annual event. Local businesses purchase sponsorships to help defray the costs of pumpkins for local school children, LED lights, police details and staff time. Volunteers work in conjunction with staff to set up the displays, deliver pumpkins and clean everything up the next day while representatives from schools, organizations, businesses and families organize carving parties to produce the thousand plus jack-o-lanterns. And, staff from the City of Newport embrace the event and help to ensure it is safe and welcoming for all.