Fall is in full swing in Happy Valley; the weather has turned colder, leaves are starting to fall from trees and all the fun fall events are starting to happen. On Friday, Oct. 11 and Saturday, Oct. 12 the 2019 Pumpkin Festival took place at the Arboretum. VALLEY has the scoop on all things fun that happened during this annual event.
On Friday, Oct. 11, Penn State students and State College residents had the chance to show off their artistic skills by entering in the Jack-o’-Lantern Contest! On Sunday, Oct. 6, 1,000 pumpkins were given away to contest entrants and potential contestants so they could get carving away. From 8 a.m. until 3 p.m., contestants turned in their completed Jack-o’-Lanterns to be set up for judging.
The Festival kicked off on Friday night at 6 p.m. at the Arboretum. The Arboretum is located next to the Law Building off of Park Avenue and can be easily spotted by the fountain at the front. Once you entered the festival, a display of all the Jack-o’-Lanterns were set up, along with various food vendors to grab a quite bite to eat while walking around.
The bulk of the fun and activities happened all day Saturday. The festival began at 3 p.m. and ended at 9 p.m., with a plethora of things for people to see. Starting at 3 p.m. and lasting for the duration of the day, food vendors were set up throughout the Arboretum for Penn State students and State College residents. Some vendors included Laura’s Home Cooking, Standing Stone Coffee Company and Duff’s Kettle Korn. In the afternoon, there were also family activities, strolling music with Picker and Papa and magician Ben Salinas. This was the perfect kick off for family fun during this fall season.
Western Range, another performance group, also played their music for all attendees of the Festival. The night ended with the completed Jack-O’-Lanterns being on display for all attendees to see — a comforting fall ending to the event.
The arboretum is a great place to enjoy fall activities and see the fall decor of State College. Be sure to take a walk around before the season ends!
