ENFIELD — Get ready to start this spooky season with the Enfield Jack O’ Lantern Festival on Oct. 19 at the Enfield Town Green, 820 Enfield St. from 4-8 p.m. with a rain date of Oct. 20.
This festival takes place every October. Kelsey McGuire-Bruce, one of the three directors of the Enfield Jack O’ Lantern Festival said, “Our goal this year is to have a successful event where all children around our Enfield community as well as surrounding communities can come together and celebrate the fall season and also be a part of something special together, creating some great memories as a family.”
She went on to say, “We’re hoping to have lots of carved Jack O’ Lanterns. We set them up on the bleachers and have a beautiful Jack O’ Lantern display.”
The Enfield Jack O’ Lantern Festival was created over 20 years ago by PTO moms in Enfield. Founding member Jill Osborne came up with the idea and wanted to bring a fall festival to Enfield. She rallied a group of moms together and created the first Jack O’ Lantern Festival in 2001. McGuire-Bruce and the two other directors, Danielle Reel and Nicole Marcotte, were on the committee for a few years with the founding members and took over the event in 2022. They have a committee of 10 that are dedicated to planning and having the event go off without a hitch.
“We couldn’t do it without our volunteers and our sponsors,” McGuire-Bruce said.
The festival will have a large trick-or-treat tent called the Alex Fisher Trick-or-Treat Tent in memory of one of the other founding members whose son Alex passed away. That tent will have 10 candy stations where children can go trick-or-treating.
A balloon artist, face painter and a live carver will be in attendance, in addition to food trucks,
inflatables, games, hayrides, a DJ, a costume contest, a pumpkin carving contest and raffle prizes.
Cost is $5 per child with a carved pumpkin and $10 per child without a pumpkin.
“This is a great fall tradition,” McGuire-Bruce said. “It’s important for us as we grow our families, and our friends grow their families to be able to continue this beloved Enfield tradition year after year.”
She continued, “It’s also important to remember that Enfield is a really great community, and we have a lot to offer for families. I think this is one of those great events where people can come together and really feel a sense of community and belonging here in our town.”
For more information on the event, contact enfieldjolf@gmail.com.
The Enfield Jack O’ Lantern Festival are looking for more volunteers and community sponsors. On their Facebook page, facebook.com/enfieldjolf2001, they have a Google sign-up sheet for volunteers as well as information for donors and sponsors.
