During the September 10 Committee of Whole meeting, on the left, dressed as a scarecrow Pumpkinfest Committee member and volunteer Connie Barker handed members of Saugeen Shores Council seeds to practice for the annual Celebrity Seed Spitting competition which will open the 32nd annual Port Elgin Pumpkinfest September 29. On the right, Pumpkinfest Committee member Dave Mensher provided Saugeen Shores Council with information about the long-standing festival.

Hub Staff

The 32nd annual Port Elgin Pumpkinfest is weeks away and tickets are now on sale at Cathy's Flowers N’ Treasures and Ralph’s Hi-way Shopette in Port Elgin and at the Southampton Olive Oil Company.

The annual event is set to take place Saturday and Sunday, September 29 and 30 in downtown Port Elgin and will feature even more 'family fun second to none'. The event that draws record giant pumpkins, squashes and cornstalks will this year have a focus on cucumbers. And by focus committee members mean the bigger, the better. Anyone with an interesting or large cucumber or anything fascinating growing in their garden is asked to bring it to the weigh-off tent. A total of approximately $20,000 in prize money will be up for grabs.

During a delegation to Saugeen Shores Council September 10, the Pumpkinfest Committee highlighted revenue that the festival had put back into the local economy through a Tourism Regional Economic Impact Model report. The report indicated that the approximately 30,000 attendees in 2017 amounted to $3.9 million in total visitor spending, contributing a little over $2.4 million to local businesses and organizations.

Pumpkinfest Committee member Dave Mensher said there are many new activities that have again expanded the growing festival. The Cinderella’a Carriage Car Show sponsored by OLG which drew over 1,000 cars in 2017 is inviting a new class of cars, the "Mudder" class, for the 2018 event. The new class is being hailed a true tribute to Bruce County culture. Other car show staples will continue including the Corvette Corral and a 1948 Chevrolet Stylemaster, North Carolina Sherif Car used by the “The Revenuers” during prohibition.

The weekend will kick off Friday evening when the annual Pub-Kin Crawl will get underway for the ninth year, participating venues to be announced, and the Queen’s Bar and Grill will be hosting Oktoberfest with the Lulu’s Band taking the stage and the Port Elgin Legion will host Pumpkinfest Dinner in the Lounge at 6 p.m.

Mensher highlighted more children’s activities including a Junior Firefit Challenge that will take place in front of the Port Elgin Firehall September 29 and a PJ Party that will happen from 6:30 to 8 p.m. inside weigh-off arena (Missionary Church) and will feature crafts, a movie and a ventriloquist puppet show. For the older kids, the Practically Hip will be performing on the outdoor stage Saturday night. Tickets can be purchased online at pumpkinfest.org/attractions/practically-hip.

Dressed as a scarecrow Pumpkinfest volunteer Connie Barker handed out seeds to councillors in attendance during the September 10 Committee of a Whole and invited them to practice for the Celebrity Seed Spitting competition sponsored by 7Acres, which is set to open the annual festival at 10 a.m. September 29.

Deputy Mayor Luke Charbonneau, who in the absence of Saugeen Shores Mayor Mike Smith sat in the mayor's seat, jokingly reminded his cohorts to do well in the popular contest as it is an election year. “I would encourage all members of council to be there and join us in spitting seeds because that’s a really exciting and great event,” said Charbonneau, a long time Pumpkinfest volunteer.

Every year over 200 volunteers are recruited to help in all aspects of the festival from pumpkin carving to car show parking. For the first year volunteers can sign up via the Pumpkinfest website or in person at the Saugeen Shores Municipal building.