BARRHEAD - The return of Barrhead's Pumpkin Walk was an overwhelming success.
That is how Pumpkin Walk community chairperson Amanda Lambert characterized the rebooting of the popular event, which features children and the young at heart going on a self-guided tour of 600-700 jack-o-lanterns between various booths and displays receiving treats along the way.
She estimated that about 4,000 people participated in the Oct. 28 walk at the Barrhead Sportsgrounds.
"It was a great event. Everything went as well as we could have hoped for," she said.
In past years, local grocery stores delivered the raw pumpkins a day before the walk directly to Barrhead Elementary School (BES). Students would then carve their jack-o-lanterns in their classrooms or in the gymnasium. The next morning volunteers would pick up the finished product and start laying out the jack-o-lantern paths.
However, this year, to accommodate issues from students and staff with food allergies, the school decided to carve the pumpkins off-site over two days at the Seniors' Drop-In Centre. On the second day, a few hours before the start of the Pumpkin Walk, the older BES grades carried the pumpkins a short distance away to the Sportsgrounds.
"It worked out much better this way," Lambert said. "Not only did we not have to find a trailer, pick up the jack-o-lanterns, just to unload them again to create the paths. And I think the kids enjoyed it more, being more involved in the process."
Lambert said that is not the only tweak they made to the walk, noting every year, the organizing committee tries to add something to the event. In addition to the booths, jack-o-lanterns, treats and fireworks, the Pumpkin Walk was joined by the Town of Barrhead's parks and recreation department, which hosted a Stranger Things-themed haunted house at the Agrena's Charles Godberson Rotary Room.
"We also wanted to add something while people were waiting in line, so we had the Wiersingers, Justin and Chelsea, perform. I think everyone appreciated being able to listen to live music while waiting in line," she said.
How the Pumpkin Walk began
The event was started about 15 years ago by Pembina West Co-op general manager Allan Cote when he noticed Barrhead did not have any family-friendly, safe alternatives to trick-or-treating.
Originally the event was held at the Paddle River Golf Course. However, because of its popularity, most notably inadequate parking in nearby neighbourhoods and lighting, the decision was made to move the Pumpkin Walk to the Sportsgrounds. Lambert and a committee of community members took over organizing the event in 2018 after Pembina West Co-op opted to scale back their role due to the opening of their new food store.
