Pumpkin racing, as seen above in 2015, is one of the more popular events at the PumpkinPalooza festival. The 6th annual event will be held Sunday in Victorian Square.
If you are looking for some good ole’ fashioned fun outdoors at one of Sparks’ premier community events, then consider spending your Sunday celebrating all things pumpkin at the 2017 PumpkinPalooza to be held Oct. 22 in Victorian Square.
For its sixth year in a row, people can build and race pumpkins in the Pumpkin Derby, join in the family costume parade with the World’s Best Horror Movie Host Zomboo acting as its grand marshal, enter decorated pumpkins in a beauty contest, play carnival-style games and participate in so much more! There is truly something for everyone in this perfect pre-Halloween event that draws thousands of visitors each year (and continues to get bigger and better).
Dip into the haunted schoolhouse if you dare to listen in on scary stories or compete in the pie-eating, zombie walking, mummy-wrapping, or marshmallow shooting contests going on outside in Victorian Square.
The festival will be held from 10am-5pm and PumpkinPalooza guests can listen to local live music on the main stage starting at noon with the Rebekah Chase Band followed by Art in Motion, the Note-Ables Reno Rock Camp, Lisa G, Hollywood Trashed, and Arizona ones. All entertainers are donating their time to benefit the Northern Nevada Center for Independent Living and PumpkinPalooza.
Many of the events are free, yet the carnival games are 50 cents to play, marshmallow shooting kits are available for $5, and the pumpkin derby registration fee is $10.
Since its inception, the premier activity of PumpkinPalooza has always been the Pumpkin Derby. Registration opens at 10 a.m. and the Reno Dads Pumpkin Patch Garage will be open from 10 a.m. to noon for those who want to build their racer on site. From 10 to 11 a.m., the City of Sparks staff will be racing their pumpkins and showing the rest of the community how it’s done.
People will be able to test and tune their pumpkins from 11am-1pm and then the true racing begins at 1:30 p.m. following the family costume parade. Final races are set to start at 3:30 p.m. in the super stock and funny car divisions, with trophies to be awarded immediately afterwards. If you need some extra tips on how to build your Pumpkin Racer, check out Mayor Geno Martini’s video at https://www.facebook.com/PumpkinPaloozaNV/.
Leave a Reply