The third annual Great Pumpkin Walk and Carving Contest will be held Saturday, October 27th, from 5-9p.

This year the walk will be around the Salem Public Square in conjunction with the Parks and Recreation Trick or Treating at the Stevens Museum and the Halloween Parade sponsored by Turtlefish Clothing Co. and Angie Wilson, “Queen of Taxes”

Washington County Tourism will furnish real pumpkins or participants can provide their own. Pick up pumpkins at the YMCA parking lot on Wednesday, October 24 th after 3:00 pm, Thursday and Friday until 6:00 pm.

Entry for the contest will be held on Saturday, October 27 th from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm at the Purlee Plaza, located on the corner of South High Street and E. Market Street. You may enter as many pumpkins as desired.

There are three categories: Painted, Carved, Other (artificial, gourds, etc.)

What follows are the guidelines for participation. Please be sure to read all guidelines.

Understandably, very young children shouldn’t be using sharp knives to carve pumpkins so painting is suggested. A parent may help with the carving, but please allow the design to be the child’s own to make it fair to all contestants.

We will display pre-school entries but they will not be judged. Each pre-school participant will receive a certificate.

Elementary… 2 divisions: Kindergarten through second grade and third through fifth in carved and painted pumpkins. Prizes for these categories are $50 for the winners.

Middle School…The categories for middle school (Grades 6-8) include carved and painted pumpkins. Prizes for these categories are $75 to the winners.

High School…High school categories include carved pumpkins, painted pumpkins, artificial pumpkin carving and alternative carving such as gourdes. Prizes for these categories are $100 to the winners.

Adults…Adult categories include carved pumpkins, artificial pumpkin carving, painted pumpkins and gourde carving. Prizes for these categories are $150 to the winners.

Note: Entered pumpkins can be picked up by the participant after the event at 9:00 pm.

Those not picked up by the designated time will be discarded.

Holiday World’s iconic Kringle’s Kafe will serve its final customers on October 28, as construction of the new Santa’s Merry Marketplace begins in November.

“We’re ramping up the theming and the menus for next season,” says park president Matt Eckert. “Santa’s Merry Marketplace is nearly 50 percent larger than Kringle’s and will include more menu items plus a coffee shop, bakery, candy store, and ice cream shop.

Holiday World will invest a total of $5.5 million for the 2019 season, including:

• Santa’s Merry Marketplace, with five serving stations offering varying menus, plus Candy Cane Confectionary, Sugarplum Scoop Shoppe, and the Polar Expresso
• New “Kids World” event for five weekends starting in mid-August
• On-ride photos for Gobbler Getaway dark ride
• Candy Cornucopia store and Dippin’ Dots Sundae Shoppe in the Thanksgiving section
• Track improvements for The Voyage, the world’s second-longest wooden roller coaster
• Additional Cabanas

“With Santa’s Merry Marketplace, we’ll start a new tradition at Holiday World, as Santa Claus greets park Guests each morning from the bell-tower balcony,” says Eckert. “We also plan to work in some reminders of our Santa Claus Land days and other magical surprises.”

Holiday World is open for Happy Halloween Weekends through October 28. Season Passes for 2019 are currently discounted at their lowest prices. For more information, visit HolidayWorld.com or call 1-877-463-2645.