A rainy evening didn’t deter Portage residents from a night of Halloween fun with the Portage Events Partnership (PEP) as it hosted its second annual the Light Up the Gourds! event, a walking illuminated pumpkin trail with hundreds of pumpkins on display.
The event is to be held on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 29 and 30 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. After a successful year as a drive-thru event, PEP is excited to host Light Up the Gourds! on the trails at Imagination Glen Park, located at the intersection of Portage Avenue and McCool Road. On Saturday, PEP will also host a Candy Crawl, its version of a trunk or treat.
Light Up the Gourds! is free to attend. In addition to viewing pumpkin scenes contributed by local schools, nonprofits, and businesses, food trucks have been added to this year's event. Food trucks to be in attendance include House of Garlic, Tocayos, and Fat Guys Fries. PEP will also be selling hot chocolate, cookies donated from Strack & Van Til, and marshmallows.
Andrea Riley is a PEP Committee Member and 33-year resident of Portage. As the librarian at Crisman Elementary School, Riley looks forward to another year of celebrating Halloween with the community. After some teachers from Crisman took a trip to Kentucky to see a great pumpkin display, they returned to Portage inspired to bring back a similar event home for Portage kids.
“I thought: ‘Nobody up here does anything like this; we could even do a small portion of this and let our kids experience it,” said Riley. “We need to do things for our kids. So that was our big push to want to do this: doing something for our kids.”
Almost as if it were part of the annual tradition, it rained for last year’s Light Up the Gourds!, but Portage residents were ready to get out and celebrate the holiday regardless. Last year, PEP chose to have a drive-thru event rather than a walk.
“The people were fantastic last year, especially the senior citizens who had been trapped inside from COVID. They didn't have to get out to walk, so they could drive through and just enjoy it. And they did,” said Riley. “We probably had 200 cars a night for our first time with this event.”
The PEP expects a great crowd for Light Up the Gourds!. Just last week, for the haunted hayrides, over 600 residents lined up in the rain for the event. The following days featured lines of over a thousand attendees. Riley looks forward to Portage residents seeing the various displays from organizations throughout the town.
“The firemen had a spectacular display last year, and they have outdone themselves yet again this year. The portage YMCA always does something great because they let their kids that are in the preschool decorate the pumpkins. We've got Girl Scouts, the Junior Miss, Crisman Elementary School, and more,” said Riley.
Crisman Elementary School’s display is really special to Riley.
“Every student got the opportunity to draw a face on a pumpkin, and the adults carved them. There's over 400 pumpkins from Crisman down there. Their theme is the Olympics because it's the school theme. Culture’s Farms sold all of the pumpkins for $2 apiece, so the Crisman kids could afford to have a pumpkin. Our principal paid a good chunk of it, too, so the kids just had to pay $1 for a pumpkin. They gave us five pallets of pumpkins for the kids to carve.”
There is still one more night to join in on the Halloween fun. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/579909986548426 for more Light Up the Gourds! information from PEP.
Also, it is almost that time of year! Mark your calendars for December 4th for PEP’s annual Mistletoe on Main, an annual tree lighting at Founders Square Park. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be in attendance for pictures and perhaps in line for some chili from the local Kiwanis Club. See you then!
