What does Pumpkin Fest mean to you? Clearly I am missing something.Yeah... lovely.
The thing that frustrates me about the whole event is that there was really no connection to the Pumpkin Fest, despite headlines to the contrary. Virtually nobody even knew it was happening since it was well away from the actual festivities. Yet now this nice community event might go away completely because a bunch of assholes decide to flip cars and throw stuff at cops.
Well, I don't live there anymore but it was a really great community event that I went to for years. It brings a lot of money into the community and is an interesting, quirky little record that the city has been proud of.What does Pumpkin Fest mean to you? Clearly I am missing something.
Massholes and cheap taxes and that don't tread on me pickem up truck mentality. Keene is fairly weathly. Nobody poor owns property there....Well, I don't live there anymore but it was a really great community event that I went to for years. It brings a lot of money into the community and is an interesting, quirky little record that the city has been proud of.
As much as anything, I think this event is an example of two pet peeves. One is terrible journalism that values a catchy headline over real reporting - the event and the riots were only connected in that they happened in the same night, and most of the reports seem to suggest that the 'fest devolved into SWAT teams and pepper spray. The other is entitled douchebags - a bunch of idiots in a middle class city going to college who basically have nothing in their life to complain about and they go incite a riot because they're bored.
he is also a douchebag.I am a white, middle class male professor at a big, public university
My friends from Rindge say that during pledge week everyone invites their friends up from home to party at school. It just so happened that week fell on Pumpkin Fest. Keene like Hanover and Rindge are wonderful towns. No slight intended.....Having lived in Keene for 23 years, I assure you that "poor" people do own property there. While property taxes there are quite steep, it actually is not even in the top half of the most affluent communities in the state. If there was a list for communities with the most hometown spirit, however, I assure you Keene would near the top of the list.
Pumpkin Festival was started by a family friend in 1991 as the Harvest Festival - nothing to do with pumpkins, in fact. It was a chance for friends and family to gather together in one place, and celebrate one of New England's most beautiful seasons. Kids dressed in costume and trick-or-treated at all the local businesses on Main Street; local artists and performers showcased their talents, and wonderful autumn treats abounded. It started shortly thereafter as just a fun little thing to bring a jack-o-lantern, and grew into a world record attempt. In fact, the world record didn't even have particularly stringent regulations until last year.
It's really a disappointment for everyone in the community that it was overshadowed by the thoughtless, drunk antics of college morons this year (again, away from the actual festival), as it is really a wonderful celebration for the community. As BV said, it is fantastic for local businesses, who are not all wealthy merchants, and who don't see throngs of tourists otherwise. The 'fest creator has been a pillar of the community for over 20 years, and I do believe she started a truly special tradition for the small city. A large annual festival that brings so much joy to the families and that has put the town on the map is something worth celebrating. I hope they can continue to create pumpkin-filled memories for years to come.
Sincerely,
The [gourd-loving] skin suit
There is something inately douchey about classifying and categorizing, then subsequently designating others as douches.Night of the living douchebags. https://medium.com/@michaelcohen/douchebag-the-white-racial-slur-weve-all-been-waiting-for-a2323002f85d
How does one create a hyperlink on the new site?
i was gonna say, when i first saw the headlines i thought "da fuq kind of harvest festival is this?" i mean, i can see rioting after a guns n' roses show (when axl beats everyone to the all you can eat buffet and leaves nothing behind), but squash?Well, I don't live there anymore but it was a really great community event that I went to for years. It brings a lot of money into the community and is an interesting, quirky little record that the city has been proud of.
As much as anything, I think this event is an example of two pet peeves. One is terrible journalism that values a catchy headline over real reporting - the event and the riots were only connected in that they happened in the same night, and most of the reports seem to suggest that the 'fest devolved into SWAT teams and pepper spray. The other is entitled douchebags - a bunch of idiots in a middle class city going to college who basically have nothing in their life to complain about and they go incite a riot because they're bored.