by Lana Douglas, Triangle staff writer
PumpkinFest is not just a fun, family alternative to Halloween. There are many opportunities for Bryan students to get involved, said Anna Tromanhauser, executive director of MainStreet Dayton. Bryan students can volunteer to help at many of the booths or just come to enjoy the festivities Friday, October 30 starting at 12 p.m. and ending Saturday, Oct. 31 at 10 p.m.
PumpkinFest was originally started by MargieWertz four years ago to be an alternative to Halloween trick-or-treating, said Tromanhauser.
“[PumpkinFest] mainly started as a fun Halloween festival that focused on the positive things of fall instead of the ghoulish things,” said Tromanhauser.
A large festival, like PumpkinFest, would give families a safe and comfortable environment where they could feel comfortable bringing their kids to have fun, said Margie Wertz, MainStreet Dayton board member.
PumpkinFest requires a lot of volunteers to make it a successful event.
“We really depend on Bryan College to help out,” said Wertz. “They’ve been so helpful in past years just filling in, and every student that has come to help out has had a great time.”
There are many different booths where volunteers are needed. Some of the opportunities for volunteers to help are selling tickets for hayrides, selling t-shirts, passing out candy, selling popcorn and directing cars, said Tromanhauser.
Margie Legg, director of foundation and community relations at Bryan College and a MainStreet Dayton board member, said that PumpkinFest is a good way for Bryan students to let the community know that they are interested in what goes on in the community.
“It [PumpkinFest] really helps fulfill the mission of Bryan College. We need to make an effort to be involved with other people who don’t know Christ or might just need encouragement,” said Legg.
“Bryan students have a way of setting the bar for other teams and young people. They are a real influence,” said Wertz.
Some of the events include, trick-or-treating on Saturday night, Oct. 31 from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. (Bryan students are welcome.), a costume contest on Saturday, Oct. 31, with sign-ups beginning at 4 p.m., a pumpkin pie eating contest in Centennial Park on Saturday at 2 p.m., “Movie in the Park” on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m., hayrides on Friday from 5 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. and performances in Centennial Park on Friday and all day on Saturday.
Hayrides cost $2 per person and the “Scary-oke” competition on Friday night cost a $5 entry fee per song. All of the other activities are free, said Tromanhauser.
Bryan College’s Testify will also be performing on Friday night, Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. in Centennial Park at PumpkinFest.
Sophomore Carlin Nasiatka said that Testify will be performing because they want to be involved in the community, but they also wanted to volunteer as well as perform.
“We wanted Testify to not just be seen as a performance, but a ministry,” said Nasiatka.
Tromanhauser wants to encourage all Bryan students to come to PumpkinFest to enjoy the festivities.
“I would hate for someone to not ever see what PumpkinFest is all about,” said Tromanhauser.
A list of PumpkinFest’s events can be found on MainStreet Dayton’s website (www.mainstreetdayton.org).
Anyone who is interested in volunteering should either contact Anna Tromenhauser at the MainStreet Dayton office at (423) 775-9847 or Carlin Nasiatka at cnasiatka3144@bryan.edu.