Hundreds of jack-o'-lanterns to glow at Cochrane festival

Posted by on Friday, October 23rd, 2015 at 2:52pm.

Hallowe’en pumpkins, from the gruesome to the hilarious, will light up the night on Oct. 30 at the first annual Pumpkin Festival at Cochrane Ranch.

Organizers of this event from Cochrane High School wanted to create a community event similar to the awe-inspiring Lantern Festival put on every year in Tofino, located on the northern end of Vancouver Island in B.C.  The goal is to have hundreds of pumpkins carved by Cochrane residents on display after dark at Cochrane Ranch, a spectacle to delight young and old.

Students from the high school are creating their own festival of lights with a brilliant array of Hallowe’en jack-o’-lanterns.  Students and members of the parent council have designed this event as a fundraiser for the school, however they are also hoping to grow this event into an annual tradition the whole town can take part in.  They’re soliciting the help of Cochrane businesses, service clubs and associations and families to carve pumpkins and bring them to the event.

Those wishing to participate in the pumpkin festival can pick up a registration form at the high school and return the completed form by Oct 28.  There is an entry fee of $10 per pumpkin for students and $20 per pumpkin for adults. The carved pumpkins should be brought to Cochrane Ranch on the afternoon of Friday, Oct 30 in order to be added to the display for that evening.

Creativity is encouraged and pumpkin participants are free to use props or alternative methods of lighting their creations.   Organizers hope that enough pumpkins are received to illuminate the walking trails and creek which runs through the grounds at Cochrane Ranch.  As incentive, there will be cash prizes of $150, $100 and $50 for the top 3 entries with bonus prizes for best costumes that evening.

In addition to the glowing pumpkins, there will be hot beverages, buskers and three bands entertaining on stage, all organized and provided by Cochrane High students.

Contestants are invited to take home their creations after the festival with all remaining pumpkins slated to hit the compost.

The festival is being modeled after the Tofino Lantern Festival, which has become a signature event in the community and a major fundraising event for the Raincoast Education Society on Vancouver Island.  This festival draws a heart-warming variety of lantern entries from across the region, all handmade and donated to the cause.  When the lanterns are lit after dusk, it is a sight to behold.

In the week leading up to the event, workshops are held on the making and decorating of these handmade lanterns, making the festival a highly anticipated community event. The lantern display itself include a children’s parade, live music, dance performances and fire spinning.

Carved and glowing pumpkins have been a part of autumn celebrations for hundreds of years. The beginnings of Hallowe’en can be traced back to the Celtic tradition of Samhain, a pagan festival which celebrated the rising of the spirits of the dead.  It evolved with the Christian tradition of All Saint’s Day into today’s traditions.

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