30th Battersea Pumpkin Festival

Oct 02, 2024

The Battersea Pumpkin Festival will celebrate its 30th anniversary this Saturday, marking the occasion by bringing back its old tradition of handing out entry buttons in exchange for the more than reasonable $5 entry fee ($20 per family)

It is as popular as ever. The Pumpkin festival has remained dedicated to the same ideals that it started with; marking the fall harvest season with a community gathering, and providing an opportunity for community groups to raise a bit of money.

Although this is the 30th anniversary, it has actually been 31 years since the festival really began. the year before the first event at the Battersea Ballpark, Sharon and Will Freeman held a fall party at their farm.

“We had just had our first baby, who is now 32, and we thought we would set up a get together with friends to mark the season. I handed out pumpkin seeds and we were going to have a giant pumpkin growing contest and a pumpkin carving contest. I remember one of the pumpkins was made to look like Madonna, with her pointy bra and high pony tail style of the time, and one was dressed up like Elvis. We had bean bag races, wheelbarrow races, a bonfire. And everyone had a really good time and said we should do it again. That’s how it all got started.”

The next year, the party was moved to the ballpark, and over the next couple of years it became a full-fledged festival. Community groups, like the Women’s Institute and the United Church women, started to put on side events that got incorporated into what had become a village side event, such as the haunted barn, and the pie sale at the church. It quickly became too much work for the Freeman family to organise the festival on their own, and a committee became established and different people took the lead.

Storrington Township purchased some land next to the park, which is where the corn maze is located, and the Frontenac Society of Model Engineers established their train park, which is also incorporated into the festival each year.

Some events never caught on or had to be stopped for other reasons.

“At one point we had a pumpkin catapult set up, which was great, but dangerous. The Reeves son almost got hit one year, and that was the end of that. We had the Kingston Rocket Launching Club, at home plate. But Jeff Peters was unloading a steer to bring to the petting zoo when the rocket went off and the steer took off across the park,” Sharon Freeman recalls.

A helicopter company set up shop in a field across from the park and offered short rides around the village for a fee at one time as well.

The festival kicks off with a parade through the village of Battersea, starting at 9:45, with a prize for the best family entry. The parade provides an opportunity to have a looked at the houses in the village that are entered into the house decorating contest, on the theme of “Harvest and Spooky” this year.

Celebrity pole pumpkin carver Bruce Downey will be carving and mounting pumpkins, and there is a guest to weight contest for those pumpkins, for a cash prize.

On the festival grounds, there is a vendor village, the trains, corn maze, lots of food and beverage vendors, games, and more. Throughout the day, wagon rides to satellite festival locations in the village will be available.

For the second year, the Pumpkin Festival includes a wild art walk, that starts/ends across the road from the park at the Milburn Creek Conservation site and trail. The walk runs throughout the month of October along the 3-kilometre trail, which comes out in the parking lot at the United Church, where the pie sale takes place. This year, there are 25 installations along the walk, and for the festival day only, there is a 150 metre loop full of pieces scattered among the forest for festival goers who can’t get away from the fun in the park for too long.

As a Special 30th Anniversary feature, the Rideau Rountable is bringing their Voyageur Canoe Excursion to the festival. a chance to explore the l Battersea creek! Participants will paddle a 34-foot replica Montreal canoe, or a 26-foot Rabaska canoe. Guides will talk about the local environment, ecology, and history of the region.

There is parking at the festival, but it is easier, and recommended, especially during peak festival hours, to park at Storrington Public School, and take the free shuttle bus, courtesy of Robert Hogan bus lines, to the festival grounds and back.

All of the details about timing and events are available at the Batterseapumpkinfestival.com