West Chester, Ohio Great Pumpkin Fest

W EST CHESTER TWP, Ohio. — West Chester’s Great Pumpkin Fest is this weekend, and although the festival has no connection to the fabled Great Pumpkin in the “Peanuts” comics, it is geared primarily toward children and families.
The 10th annual event runs from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday at Keehner Park, 7411 Barret Road.
Barbara Wilson, public information officer for West Chester Twp., said the festival has some new features this year.
“We have extra pony carousels so kids don’t have to wait very long,” she said. And those are real ponies, not wooden ones, she said.
Another highlight is the costume contest. Registration for this will begin at 2 p.m. with the actual contest judging at 3 p.m., Wilson said.
Kids will be divided into eight age groups and will be judged by the Primrose School. Trophies and other prizes will be awarded.
While many Halloween attractions in the area feature blood-curdling chills, the Pumpkin Fest has a more genteel version called the “not so scary haunted trail.”
Run with the help of local Girl Scouts, the trail includes stops where kids play games and the Scouts are dressed in costumes.
If the weather is good, and it is expected to be, Wilson said as many as 5,000 people may attend the event.
“We just wanted to have a fall festival for the community that was focused on families,” Wilson said.
There is also a Pumpkin Fest happening noon to 6 p.m. every Saturday through Oct. 23 at McMonigle Farm, 7441 Franklin Madison Road in Middletown.
It features pumpkins, hayrides, and other family fun and for the second season pumpkin fest.
For more information, call (937) 672-8248.