The fifth annual Cochrane Pumpkin Lantern Festival will light up the grounds at Cochrane Ranche Oct. 25, showcasing jack-o'-lanterns by local students and community members.
“We’re looking forward to holding a wonderful community event that’s supported by schools, volunteers, businesses [and] groups alike,” said Catherine Burdett, a member of the festival’s organizing committee. “It’s a pretty awesome event.”
According to Burdett, the festival – which runs from 6 to 9 p.m. – was originally started in 2015 by Cochrane High School, but the event has since grown to include all Cochrane and area schools, such as Westbrook School, Bearspaw School and Morley School.
“We don’t really know until the actual day who’s going to show up, but, traditionally, we’ve had outstanding support from all of the schools,” she said.
The event has grown throughout the years, Burdett said, from around 123 carved pumpkins and 900 visitors in 2015 – the event’s inaugural year– to 300 pumpkins and 3,000 attendees in 2018. The festival is an important way to promote community spirit in Cochrane, she added.
“It’s just a really beautiful way to connect the community together in a fun way that connects all ages, from the very, very young to the more mature grandparent,” she said.
Inclement weather may deter people from attending, but Burdett said residents should plan to dress appropriately and take the time to appreciate the lanterns.
The event’s centrepiece is the intricately carved jack-o'-lanterns that line the trails at Cochrane Ranche, and Burdett anticipates at least 300 will be on display this year, with many carved by Cochrane and area students.
“We really engage the students to do pumpkin carving in their classrooms, and bring their pumpkins to light up the pumpkin trail,” she said.
The festival will also feature music by the Cochrane High School band throughout the evening, and a wood carving demonstration by Brian Widahl of Widahl Woodcraft. Three food trucks will be on site, Burdett said, and attendees can also enjoy s’mores and hot drinks.
“Little kids tend to get dressed up for Halloween, so that makes it extra interesting, to watch the little people going through the park and enjoying what’s happening,” she said.
Many of the pumpkins will be entered into the festival’s carving contest, which Burdett said is broken into five categories: 12 years old and under, 13 to 17 years old, 18 years old and up, a business category and a group category. Judges will deliberate on the best jack-o'-lanterns between 3 and 5 p.m., and participants are invited to drop off their pumpkins at Cochrane Ranche with a completed contest registration form Oct. 25 between noon and 2:30 p.m.
Registration forms are available at the Cochrane Pumpkin Lantern Festival Facebook page, she added. Residents are also welcome to carve a pumpkin to display without entering the contest.
“You can well imagine how beautiful, at night, it is, when it’s dark and they’re all lit from within,” Burdett said.
When the event concludes at 9 p.m, she said, carvers are invited to retrieve their pumpkins. Any pumpkins not picked up will either be donated to Butterfield Acres Farm to feed its animals, or to local Halloween events, such as haunted houses.
