OP_102016

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the orland park prairie | October 20, 2016 | 5
The Great Pumpkin Party adds new events
Amanda Del Buono
Freelance Reporter
Dressed up as Elsa and
Anna from Disney’s “Frozen,”
Elise, 5, and Sienna, 3,
knelt next to a pumpkin that
was nearly the size of them,
poking and wobbling it as
they investigated the giant
vegetable.
Their father, Rob Ator,
stood next to them, as they
tried to determine the pumpkin’s
weight.
The Homer Glen father
and daughters made the trip
to Orland Park to enjoy the
fall weather and activities at
The Great Pumpkin Party.
“It’s beautiful weather,
and we like to be outside as
much as we can,” Rob said.
After guessing the weight
of the pumpkin, the girls
were off running to the next
activity.
The Village of Orland
Park’s Parks & Recreation
Department hosted its annual
Great Pumpkin Party Oct.
8 at Centennial Park. It was
rescheduled from its original
date of Oct. 1.
After having to reschedule,
event organizers said
they were happy to see the
clear skies and floods of
people come to participate in
a myriad of fall activities on
the event’s rescheduled date.
“This is a really great turnout,”
said Irene Buikema,
recreation operations manager
for Orland Park. “It’s
really great, having rescheduled.”
Nancy Flores, director of
recreation for the Village
agreed that the turnout was
strong, helped in part by the
weather.
Although each of the activities
celebrates the fall,
the event changes each year,
Buikema said.
“Each year, we try and
add something new,” she
Kaitlin Bauer, 11, of Orland Park, competes in the pie eating
contest at The Great Pumpkin Party.
said. “This year we have a
seed-spitting contest and a
catapult launching pumpkins
into Lake Sedgewick.”
The new events were a hit,
Flores said.
“The kids love the catapult,”
she said.
St. Charles resident Eddy
English was determined to
win the seed-spitting contest,
his wife Dana said, as
she held their 7-month-old
son Duke and watched over
their 3-year-old son Deacon.
“Their dad is trying his
hardest to win the pumpkin
seed contest,” she said. “He
keeps making them remeasure.”
Also enticed by the seedspitting
contest, 4-year-old
Hailey Gross explained to
her mother, Kristin, what the
participants were doing.
“They spit the seeds and
see how far they went,” she
said in awe.
Kristen and her husband,
Mike, who recently moved
from Orland Park to Mokena,
brought their two
children, Hailey and Josh,
as well as their dog, Klondike,
who was dressed as the
devil.
Kristen said the family
enjoyed all of the children’s
activities and games.
“It’s more than I expected,”
she said.
In addition to the pumpkin
weight guess, seed-spitting
contest and catapult launch,
activities included building
a scarecrow, hayrides, pony
rides, roasting marshmallows,
a pet parade, crafts,
games, dancing, a pumpkin
patch and a pie eating contest.
“People love the pie eating
contest,” Flores said.
“Our goal is to provide community
events that residents
can enjoy in their own backyard.”
Sue Heemstra, an Orland
Park resident, was among
those who said they enjoyed
it.
“We had so much fun
when we came with my other
grandchildren last year,”
said Heemstra, the mother
of Dana English. “Every
year, it’s so nice and so well
done.”
Dana English added that
she appreciated the organization
of the event.
“It’s really well organized,
especially with this many
strollers and kids,” she said.
Alessandra Rodriguez, of Evergreen Park, hangs out with her pumpkin Oct. 8 at The Great
Pumpkin Party in Orland Park. Photos by Laurie Fanelli/22nd Century Media
The Village of Orland Park Dance Company performs to “Footloose.”