What better way to get in the Halloween spirit than by participating in the Arboretum’s second annual Pumpkin Festival? All ages of the State College community are welcome to join in the cheerful celebration from October 14^th to the 20^th.

Starting on Sunday, October 14th, the festival kicks off with a free pumpkin giveaway. There will be 750 distributed on a first come/first serve basis so make sure you wake up at the crack of dawn and sprint to those gardens before you have to shamelessly buy your own to bring to the pumpkin carving contest. And don’t forget, there are always rules to follow.

The contest consists of three different stages. Registration lasts from Thursday, October 18^th (9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.) to Friday October 19^th (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) at the Overlook Pavilion. Judging occurs on the event lawn Friday, followed by the beaming-lit Jack-o’-Lantern display on Friday and Saturday night from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Garden paths, plant beds, and the Overlook Pavilion will be lit to further enhance the luminosity of the exhibit.

Light refreshments will be served on Saturday night, so you’ll be able to sip on some warm cider while strolling throughout the serene pumpkin and garden displays. Also, to end on another good note, the first 350 people to register will receive a gift certificate to the Penn State Berkey Creamery. So who knows, maybe you’ll be one of those lucky people who gets ice cream and a pumpkin. Or even a fancy ribbon..

If you can’t think of anything creative that would catch the eye of those expert Halloween Pumpkin judges, check out these easy pumpkin templates made by Martha Stewart. All you have to do is print out the stencil and carve away.