HARDWICK — The Hardwick Trails Committee will host its annual Pumpkin Walk, Sunday, Oct. 6 at 6 p.m., with help from Hardwick Elementary School (HES) students and art teacher, Beth LeCours.
Every student at HES carves a pumpkin during art classes the week prior to the event. Approximately 375 pumpkins donated by the Hardwick Trails Committee will be turned into lighted Jack O’Lanterns this year.
LeCours instructs students in carving safety and helps foster each student’s creation to become a part of a large art installation displayed along the Hardwick Trails behind Hazen Union School.
This public event is made possible due to the community’s collaboration. The week before the event volunteers unload pumpkins at the school each morning and pick them up each afternoon to transport and store them at the trails cabin until the day of the event.
Hardwick Elementary School fifth grade students get started carving pumpkins for the Sunday, Oct. 6, Pumpkin Walk on the Hardwick Trails, behind Hazen Union School. Estella Foster raises her hand to request a sharp implement to remove the top of her pumpkin before she scoops out the seeds inside it while (near side, front to back) Ivy Demers, Brantley Gouin, Colton Diagneault (far side, front to back) Jase Perry, Estella Foster, Lilac Dyer and Isabella Trejo work on their pumpkins.
On October 6, volunteers will arrange and light the pumpkins along the trail. As visitors walk the half-mile trail, they will come upon a gathering place with a bonfire, a table with free cider and donuts and Lesa Cathcart, dressed as a witch, reading non-scary Halloween stories.
LeCours offered her thoughts after many years of involvement, saying, “The Pumpkin Walk event is joyful for all ages. No matter what the weather, hundreds come to view all the glowing pumpkins that line a pathway into the magical setting of the Hardwick Trails forest. Children enjoy the hunt for their own pumpkin art. Families and friends enjoy visiting at the bonfire with cider and donuts as a special treat.”
Lynn Angebranndt (left) helps Hardwick Elementary School students in Beth LeCours’ art class carve pumpkins for Sunday’s 6 p.m. Pumpkin Walk at the Hardwick Trails.
“Personally I walk the trail at least two or three times after dark not only because it is so beautiful seeing all the little pumpkins displayed together, but also there is a special feeling of community when you experience this event with so many others appreciating the creativity and personalities of each student’s creations.”
Norma Weisen with the Hardwick Trails committee said, “The Hardwick Trails Committee is proud to sponsor this fall classic.”
Olivia Saras is an intern in her senior year at People’s Academy in Morrisville.
