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By now, you have probably figured out that I love pumpkins. But did you also know that I love trains? Well, that’s why when I heard about the Pumpkinliner, I just had to share it with you.

Starting Oct. 6,  Fillmore & Western Railway Co. in Santa Clara, Calif., will be running trains to the “Icabog” pumpkin farm, where pumpkins go for $1 and up. The private pumpkin patch also has a carousel, a haunted hay maze and an arts & crafts fair. Sounds like a great family fun day to me.

For more information, visit their website at www.fwry.com.

On Oct. 29, the Bristol Public Library in Bristol, Conn., will host the first ever Pumpkin Festival, show casing grinning, menacing and other creatively carved pumpkins.

“The Pumpkin Festival is something we hope will become an annual event,” Jessica Dumont, library board member, told park officials earlier this month.

Pumpkins decorated and carved by locals will be judged and prizes will be won. “It’s going to be something different,” said Francine Petosa, Library Director. The event should fit in with other community events planned for the Fall, including the Mum Festival, Arts in the Park and the Downtown Auto Show. “We’re going to have a lot of fun.”

For more information, visit www.bristolpumpkinfestival.com/home.

In 2003, the city of Keene, N.H., made the Guinness Book of World Records for the most carved and lit jack-o-lanterns gathered in one place – 28,592.

This year, they have a challenger – Bennington, Vt.

Dressed from head to toe in orange, Bob Stannard tossed an orange gauntlet down of the floor of Keene City Hall on Aug. 2, 2006.

Sporting an orange baseball cap with “Pumpkin King” emblazoned across it, Michael E.J. Blastos, mayor of Keene, told Stannard that, “It takes a great deal of courage to wear a suit like that.”

Then the mayor provided Stannard, executive director of Better Bennington Corp., with a CD from the 2003 pumpkin festival on how to “challenge Keene, what can be learned from Keene, and how to loose gracefully to Keene.”

The pseudo event was staged in an effort to publicize both town’s downtown areas.

“Now all we need is 30,000 pumpkins and about 1,000 volunteers,” said Stannard. “This is going to be fun.”

For more information:

Vt.-N.H. pumpkin challenge made official
www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060803/NEWS/608030358/1003/NEWS02

Keene Pumpkin Festival
www.pumpkinfestival.com

1st Annual Bennington Great Pumpkin Challenge
www.bennington.com/bbc

It’s almost that time of year, when communities start holding their harvest festivals, which so often feature pumpkins. Here are a few I’ve learned about.

What: MAiZE at Temple Hall Farm Regional Park
Where: 15789 Temple Hall Lane
When: Sept. 8 – Oct. 29
Highlights:

• 11-acre cornfield maze
• hay rides
• pick-your-own pumpkins

For More Info: www.nvrpa.org/templehall.html

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What: Circleville Pumpkin Show
Where: 159 East Franklin Street, Circleville, Ohio
When: Oct. 18 – 21
Highlights:

• Enormous pumpkins
• Really big pumpkin pie
• Contests: pumpkin toss, pie eating, etc.

For More Info: Pumpkinshow.com

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What: World Pumpkin Chucking Championships
Where: Long Neck, Delaware
When: Nov. 3-5
Highlights:

• Machines designed to chuck pumpkins long distances
• Pumpkin pie contest

For More Info: www.punkinchunkin.com

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What: Ukiah Country PumpkinFest
Where: Ukiah, Calif.
When: October
Highlights:

• Food
• Arts and crafts
• “Scarecrow City”
• Live music
• Pie eating contest
• Pumpkin weigh off

For More Info: www.cityofukiah.com/lifestyle/events.html

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What: Pumpkins in the Park
Where: Cumberland Bowl Park, Route 58, Jonesville, VA
When: Oct. 27
Highlights:

• Face painting
• Pumpkin painting
• Hay rides
• Trick-or-Treating

For More Info: www.virginia.org/site/description.asp?attrID=27932

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What: Pumpkin Festival
Where: Marker-Miller Orchards Farm Market
When: Oct. 28
Highlights:

• Wagon Rides
• Barrel Train Rides
• Pick-Your-Own Pumpkins

For More Info: www.markermillerorchards.com

The Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival has launched a nation-wide art contest to find the perfect poster for the 2007 festival.

“The contest will open up a universe of creative possibilities,” said Cameron Palmer, chair of the Half Moon Bay Beautification Committee.

Not only that, but now the Coastal Arts League (CAL) can play a more integral role in the festival.

In the past, CAL hasn’t played much of a role in the event. “This is a marriage of two nonprofits,” said Shirley Kellicutt, CAL member and the person who came up with the idea for the poster. “We’re putting art into the Art & Pumpkin Festival.”

The winner of the contest will receive $1,000 and their work will be used for the 2007 festival and promotional material. A second place prize of $500, third place prize of $250 and fourth and fifth place prizes of $125 each, will also be awarded.

Kellicut advices that entries should have these four key characteristics:

• Be something that everyone can identify with,
• Have broad appeal,
• Capture the “orange orb essence” of the festival, and
• Be applicable to a variety of uses beyond a poster, such as T-shirts, wine glasses, etc.

In addition, she advise, “be prepared for lots of personal recognition,” if you win the contest.

For more information, including guidelines and rules, visit www.coastalartsleague.com/Pumpkin_Festival_Poster_Contest.htm

Half Moon Bay is beach town in Northern California known for its arts, surf and wildlife. It is about 25 miles south of San Francisco and 45 miles north of Santa Cruz, California.