NOTHING BUT GOURDS
by Steve Gilbert and Sarah Trefethen
Sentinel Staff
Published: Friday, October 15, 2010
Not even this morning’s driving rain could wash the smile off Stephanie Kumorek’s face. Pumpkin Festival Weekend has arrived.
From a hooded rain jacket to pink boots, the volunteer coordinator for Center Stage Cheshire County was bundled up tightly, if not warmly, this morning in Central Square.
As a nor’easter raged around her, about 25 workers clad in yellow raincoats transformed Central Square into Pumpkin Central.
Water sprayed from their boots when they stepped on the squishy ground, but the dark skies couldn’t conceal an air of excitement. It was 41 degrees and the wind had yet to kick up, but everything was on track for tonight’s community night and Saturday’s Keene Pumpkin Festival.
“It makes it cold and wet, but we’ll be good to go,” Kumorek said as preparations ramped up. “Everyone’s jazzed because it could be the last year and all.”
This will be Center Stage’s last year running the festival, and its future has yet to be decided.
Meanwhile, the sweet smell of freshly cut wood coming from dozens of folded A-frames provided an unexpected fragrance. The A-frames, which were leaning against trees from Central Square all the way down Main Street, will be unfolded and stacked with jack-o’-lanterns.
Kumorek and her volunteers were waiting for the first truckload to arrive. On Tuesday, they sent out 13,000 pumpkins to area schools and nonprofit organizations. They will come back today as jack-o’-lanterns.
The biggest concern this weekend wasn’t so much the rain — which is expected to taper off today and dwindle to a few showers tonight and Saturday — but the wind.
As the potent storm heads into Canada, it will pull down a gusty northeast wind that will likely whip down Washington Street, through Central Square and onto Main Street.
The National Weather Service said gusts of more than 35 mph are possible Saturday. If that holds, it shouldn’t be a problem, said Suzanne Woodward, executive director of Center Stage Cheshire County.
She said hazards could develop if the wind exceeds 45 mph, notably with the tall staging platforms.
This morning, David Wright of Keene, a Center Stage board member, was helping to coordinate building of the scaffolding that will dominate Central Square. He said it’s engineered to withstand high winds, but the problem is with the pumpkins. They make like Humpty Dumpty.
“The staging’s okay, but we’ve had piles of pumpkins at the bottom before,” Wright said. “That’s a whole lot of messy pumpkins.”
A 30-foot fall radius is maintained around the scaffolding to protect pedestrians from falling gourds.
“We’ll wait and see,” Wright said. “We’ll get all the staging done and then make a decision on what time we’ll put the pumpkins up. It will depend on the wind.”
Wright expected the staging to be completed by noon; the one in Railroad Square is already up. Several tents for food vendors were being erected at Railroad Square this morning, but the volunteers didn’t appear to be enjoying themselves.
“It’s just really tough trying to battle the elements like this,” said Kevin Watterson, president of the Keene Swamp Bats, whose tent is in the middle of Railroad Square.
The first truckloads of jack-o’-lanterns arrived this morning at 8:40, from Franklin Pierce University in Rindge and the Surry Charter School. Volunteers quickly began unloading them and placing them on A-frames facing the United Church of Christ at the head of the Square. They will gradually work their way south as the trucks roll in today.
The rhythm of the festival is officially in gear.
