Wake Forest to host hundreds of children for Project Pumpkin
This year’s Halloween festival will be held on Oct. 29
As Wake Forest students return from fall break this week, they are preparing for one of the University’s biggest student-led events. Project Pumpkin will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 29, from 3 to 6 p.m. on Hearn Plaza.
Hundreds of Wake Forest student volunteers dressed in costume will welcome children for an afternoon of carnival games, trick-or-treating, music and other entertainment.
Media are invited to attend. Please contact media@wfu.edu to confirm plans to visit. Check-in will be at the registration table in front of Wait Chapel.
“Nearly 400 kids will visit us for Project Pumpkin,” said senior Annie Russell, a student director from Belmont, NC who has been involved with the program since her freshman year. “This event is exciting for our student body. We have volunteers from 60 different student clubs and organizations working together to make this a special day for children in the Winston-Salem community. My favorite part is just seeing the kids on campus having so much fun and the smiles on their faces.”
Since its inception more than 30 years ago, Project Pumpkin has partnered with multiple local schools and after-school organizations to bring kids to the Reynolda campus for the Halloween festival. Community members interested in attending are encouraged to check-in at the tent labeled “Office of Civic and Community Engagement” beside Wait Chapel and drop off your pre-filled permission slip.
This year’s theme is Wild Adventures.
“The concept for that is habitat exploration and the kids will be given a passport to take around with them to each booth that they visit,” said senior Grace Novak, communications major from New Jersey and head student director. “The quad will be broken up into four different climate zones: rainforest, ocean, desert, and arctic. As kids travel around the activity booths they will also learn about different animals and plants, so there’s an educational component to the event. It’s also like you’re in the Arctic – learning how ice cream is made, there’s a polar bear and penguin decorations, and an activity making snowflakes.”
It’s an interactive experience and they are also learning more about science.
Grace Novak, Wake Forest University senior
In addition to the on-campus event, student volunteers will help create activities and assist organizers with the City of Winston-Salem’s Recreation and Parks Department Fall Festivals. The fun-filled events will be held at three recreation centers in the community on October 24 from 6 to 8 p.m. : Minnie Lee Davis Harris, William C. Sims and Hanes Hosiery.
“This is just another way to bring the joy and excitement of Project Pumpkin to people who may not be able to go to the day of the event,” added Russell.
Both Russell and Novak said they have learned a lot over the past four years since being involved with Project Pumpkin. From event planning and budgeting to creating fundraising plans and team building, this experience has helped them not only gain new skills, but also connect with the Winston-Salem community.
Cazandra Rebollar, assistant director of civic engagement, was a student leader for Project Pumpkin when she was an undergraduate student at Wake Forest. She said the event creates lasting memories for both kids and Wake Forest students.
“Our student directors provide an important model for what it means to be a student leader and be deeply engaged for our newer students who are watching them lead and organize this event, as well as work with our community partners.”
To continue the University’s mission beyond these efforts, Wake Forest students are also working to raise $8,000 to support the Freedom School, a program for elementary and middle-school students aimed at strengthening children’s reading skills and closing achievement gaps. Students have designed and sold Project Pumpkin t-shirts, held fundraisers in partnership with local restaurants and set up a website for donations at crowdfund.wfu.edu.
Project Pumpkin began in 1989, when a Wake Forest freshman named Libby Bell started a Halloween festival on campus for local children. Since then, thousands of children in Forsyth County have participated in the Reynalda campus event.
Categories: Campus Life, Community Impact, Pro Humanitate
Media Contact
Keri Brown
media@wfu.edu
336.758.5237
