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Preening Pumpkins

Kevin Howe/stringer photo

Mary Thomas (right) and her daughters Kellyn Thomas (center), age 6, and Keren Thomas, age 9, from Gibsonton, carve pumpkins during the Mira Bay's 2nd Annual Life is Good Pumpkin Festival.

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By LIZ BLEAU, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 27, 2007

Additional Photos

APOLLO BEACH - It was all about the pumpkins - hundreds of them carved and lined up on display shelves and more created from paper and cookies.

The Life is good Pumpkin Festival at MiraBay, sponsored by developer Newland Communities and Life is good apparel company, raised more than $11,000 for HomeAid, a nonprofit provider of housing for the homeless, and Pediatric Cancer Foundation, which funds research into childhood cancers.

Event chairwoman Diana Hilton said the festival was one of a month of fall events held to benefit the two charities. The pumpkin festival was the only one open to the public.

Mary Thomas of Gibsonton brought her daughters Kellyn, 6, and Keren, 9, to the event. They carved pumpkins for the first time and were surprised what hard work it was.

In another area, several girls were competing in pie-eating contests. Haley Harris, 5, didn't win but seemed to enjoy herself as she held her hands behind her back and slurped and chewed her way through a chocolate pudding pie covered with whipped cream.

'She thought it would be fun,' said her mother, Lisha Harris. 'She is always up for something fun.'

Hailey Folz, 3, was rolling small pumpkins to knock over bowling pins as her grandmother Jamie Robinson looked on.

'My son is here doing a booth for his company so we brought our four grandchildren,' Robinson said. 'It's a really nice event.'

Under one of the canopied tents, Emily de la Serna, 4, of Riverview was making a pumpkin from a stuffed paper bag as her dad, Fritz, held it for her to decorate with glitter. The bag pumpkins were strung up on yarn around the edges of the tent to dry.

Helping at the bag pumpkin tent was Jeff Dyer, a volunteer from South Shore United Methodist Church.

'There's about 15 or 20 volunteers here from my church,' he said. 'We are out trying to give back to our community.'

Hilton estimated there were 80 volunteers at the event, including Newland staff members and community volunteers such as Dyer.

David Leonard, 3, was popular in the costume contest, dressed as a pirate with his wheelchair converted to resemble a ship. He won in his age category.

Hilton said more than 1,000 pumpkins were purchased for the event and were handed out for children and adults to carve, for a donation.

The pumpkins, when completed, were perched on shelves. At 8 p.m., the lights were dimmed, and the pumpkins were lighted.

The crowd oohed and aahed as the hundreds of pumpkins glowed in the fall night.

Reporter Liz Bleau can be reached at (813) 865-1557 or lbleau@tampatrib.com.

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