Carmel Mayor’s Youth Council (CMYC) will be hosting Pumpkin Fest on October 24 from 4 to 7 p.m. at Carmel Civic Square. It will feature club booths from Carmel High School, Brebeuf and Park Tudor along with a variety of other activities.
Event head Molly Frank said via email, “Pumpkin Fest is a fall-themed event for families of all ages.” She and the rest of the CMYC planned the event to make it exciting for all ages and encourage everyone to come out and participate. In addition, to featuring various club booths, the event will also include many other activities.
Frank said, “Common activities include face painting, cookie decorating, raffles and bake sales.”
Some of the profits earned through the event will go to Art with a Heart. Art with a Heart is a non-profit organization that strives “to provide hands-on visual arts experiences that educate and inspire at-risk children.”
Frank predicts Pumpkin Fest to experience even more growth over the coming year. She said, “There was a great turnout last year; I would say about 300 people attended.” In order to help bring in more people and have a higher turnout she said the club was experimenting with several new concepts.
“There are different clubs and bands this year. Also, we did not have a runway for the kids last year,” said Frank. The event will also newly feature a Photo Booth as well as include a soda ring toss game.
CMYC is also attempting to stay true to the fall theme of Pumpkin Fest. Frank said, “There will be … food trucks, live music, a professional pumpkin carver, and a hayride.” The live music will be mostly from various local high school bands that will play throughout the festival.
The event also includes activities geared toward a younger audience. This activities include a new runway for dressed-up kids to show off their fall spirit to the entire community.
Finally, perhaps one of the most important parts of the festival are the club booths. These booths often contain various activities and help clubs from schools across all of Indiana fundraise for themselves. Frank said “ Some clubs from Carmel are CHS UNICEF and the Thirst Project.” In addition, some sponsors may also have booths present at the event.
“I am extremely excited (for Pumpkin Fest)! I think that the rest of CMYC feels the same way,” said Frank. “I hope that there will be even more people this year!”