HOW TO GO
WHAT: Operation Pumpkin
WHEN: Friday through Sunday. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
WHERE: Downtown Hamilton
COST: Free admission and free parking
MORE INFO: www.operation-pumpkin.org and facebook.com/operationpumpkin
The city’s downtown thoroughfare will be closed to traffic for three days this week to make way for colossal pumpkins, stilt walkers, musical acts and craft booths as Operation Pumpkin returns for its third year, and the event’s organizers are expecting attendance numbers to top 40,000.
The free event will feature more than 30 acts ranging from regional musical acts to school groups, amusement rides, children’s activities, and the annual giant pumpkin weighing. The city placed warning signs on High Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard two weeks in advance to prepare commuters for the route changes, and the Operation Pumpkin Committee continues to work to ensure the safety and success of the three-day weekend.
Along with drawing families, individuals, and arts and craft vendors from the region, Operation Pumpkin attracts large pumpkin and other fruit and vegetable growers from as far as Washington State and California, according to the event’s co-chair Tammy Snyder. The committee worked extensively with the Hamilton Police Department, Public Works Department, and other city entities to minimize traffic and parking issues.
The street closures this weekend include:
- High Street from Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to Front Street will be closed beginning at 8 p.m. today through 5 a.m. Monday .
- Second Street from Court Street to Market Street will be closed beginning at noon Friday through 5 a.m. Sunday.
- Third Street from Court Street to Market Street will be closed beginning at noon Friday through 5 a.m. Sunday .
Hamilton Police Department and Public Works Transportation and Traffic will be posting re-routing, according Hamilton Police Sgt. Ed Buns. Market Street, Maple Ave, Dayton Street and Pershing Ave are the suggested routes to use for east-west travel, and will have detour signs posted.
Those driving to Operation Pumpkin can park at the George F. McDulin Memorial Parking Garage, Third Street and Market Street, the Butler County Parking Garage on Court Street, and Hamilton City parking lots on Martin Luther King Boulevard north of High Street, Buns said. Event attendees are asked not to park in private parking lots to avoid negatively affecting local businesses.
“There were no security issues last year that required us to change the way we do business or to implement any new procedures,” he said.
The department will have several off-duty officers assigned to the event, to include overnight security of the venue, to mitigate any vandalism or other crime. These detail officers are paid for out of the Operation Pumpkin budget, Buns said.
“Operation Pumpkin is a safe and successful festival that focuses on the great things that are going on in and around Hamilton,” he said.
City Volunteer Coordinator Karen Wittmer said about 150 to 200 volunteers will help run the events over the weekend, doing everything from running events, to pouring pints of craft beers, to operating amusement rides.
“People love it, they want to volunteer,” she said.
While the event committee ended up short of its budget in 2012, last year’s revenue was sufficient to pay off what they owed and still have a bit of profit to kick-start planning for 2014, said co-chair Tammy Snyder. Her husband, Jason Snyder, a former giant pumpkin grower, founded the event in 2012, reviving the name from a fall festival that occurred annually from the 1950s through the 1970s, she said.
“We had to borrow money to pay off the first year. The second year, we recouped that, paid that off, and still had a little bit left over to start this year,” she said.
The event is entirely sponsor-based, the committee said, with the Butler County Visitors Bureau and Hamilton Visitors Bureau, Miller Coors, Fort Hamilton Hospital and the Lane Library among the contributors to the $50,000 budget.
“There’s a lot of individual donors too,” said Ian Mackenzie-Thurley, event coordinator for Operation Pumpkin. “I mean, $50, $100, a lot of them.”
Snyder said the committee lowered some of the sponsorship levels to appeal to more individuals and families, “the ones that were more excited about us having the event here, how can we get them involved and be more affordable? So that’s worked out really well.”
“While Operation Pumpkin is very grateful to the city and Butler County and local authorities for their support, it’s the people of Hamilton who make this a success, both financially and logistically, for the people, to put some more energy back into Hamilton,” Mackenzie Thurley said. “It just wouldn’t happen otherwise.”
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