The Lexington community is invited to Transylvania University’s campus Sunday, Oct. 23, for this year’s PumpkinMania Festival presented by White, Greer & Maggard Orthodontics.
The 12th annual event will feature pumpkin carving for the display on the Old Morrison steps — which last year appeared on Good Morning America — along with food vendors, music and more. The 500 jack-o’-lanterns will be lit each night from Oct. 23-27 for public viewing.
“We look forward to getting into the Halloween spirit with our neighbors at this year’s PumpkinMania,” President Brien Lewis said. “Join us on Old Morrison lawn for this family-friendly Lexington tradition.”
To participate, register for up to five free tickets to reserve pumpkins to carve between 11 a.m.-4 p.m. during the festival, which coincides with this year’s Family Weekend.
Food vendors include Bella’s Mini Donuts, C&J Foodbar, Mr. Gyros, Nathan’s Taqueria, Three Little Piggies Ice Cream, The Rooster’s Whistle coffee and West Sixth Brewing.
Parking will be available in the Transylvania lots and on streets surrounding campus.
Volunteers from the university community, including organizations and sports teams, will prepare the pumpkins for carving. Also, students are putting PumpkinMania goodies like candy and school supplies into regular Harrison Elementary snack packs, and alumni teachers in the local district received event-related coloring projects for their students courtesy of the Young Alumni Council.
For this year’s display, Transylvania is once again sourcing pumpkins from Black Soil, an organization connecting Black Kentucky farmers with their agricultural heritage and expanding the market for their products.
The pumpkins will be collected Oct. 28 by local farmers, who’ll use them for animal feed. While this means the display won’t be up through Halloween, recycling the gourds before they’re unusable is in line with the university’s commitment to sustainability.
In addition to White, Greer & Maggard Orthodontics and Black Soil, this year’s PumpkinMania sponsors include BimGroup, Alpha Financial Partners, Becker Law Office and Commonwealth Credit Union.
