RUMFORD — Hundreds of people attended the fifth annual River Valley Pumpkin Fest on Saturday in downtown Rumford.
Sponsored by EnvisionRumford and Gaskyl Productions, there were over 60 vendor booths, food, games and contests, raffles and a bench auction.
As people carved 250 pumpkins during the day, contests like hands-on-the-ice, a tug-of-war, hay bale toss, seed-spitting, and a horror scream took place.
A giant Halloween maze was set up on Congress and Exchange streets. There was a tent featuring free games and fun for younger children, including pumpkin bowling, giant tic-tac-toe, giant pumpkin checkers, giant Jenga, spinning wheels and throwing games.
A new contest added to the festival this year was the Take a Pitcher Relay Race, for teens/adults in two-person teams. Each person went through an obstacle course and completed challenges — all while carrying a pitcher of root beer.
Always a crowd favorite was the pumpkin toss and smash. Participants could toss a pumpkin over the pole and hit the bullseye to score a prize. There were spiked targets to throw the pumpkins at to win different prizes, including candy, henna tattoos, and real tattoo gift certificates.
A professional ice carver shaped a pair of pumpkins out of 300-pound blocks of ice during the day. There was a free dog and puppy costume contest, and complimentary horse and wagon rides throughout the day.
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