Celebrate the season

Traditional Romulus Pumpkin Festival begins tomorrow

The 25th annual Romulus Pumpkin Festival, a three-day event that begins on the third Friday in September each year, will begin tomorrow, Sept. 15, at Romulus Historical Park located at 11147 Hunt St.

The event will begin tomorrow evening with the traditional Rotary Club Festival of Lights where everything is aglow, from bicycles to cement trucks. Thousands of people line Goddard Road to wait for the vehicles to pass by during the event. Information about the parade rules and entry requirements is still available on the Romulus Rotary Facebook page or email Romulus.rotary@gmail.com. 

During the weekend, the street festival features music, food, crafts, and games for all ages. There is a classic car show and a craft and vendor show along with live musical entertainment. Organizers said the Pumpkin Festival is a celebration of friends and family; a harvest celebration that generates an enthusiastic spirit and regenerates a sense of community.

The public will be given a chance to pick their favorite entries in several tasting and craft competitions on Facebook and winners for all contests will be announced on Facebook and contacted individually. Bingo games sponsored by the Romulus Chamber of Commerce will take place from 4 until 12 p.m. 

tomorrow, from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. on Saturday and from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. Sunday. There will be cash prizes all three days.

The Romulus Professional Fire Fighters IAFF Local 4126 will serve pancakes from 8 until 11:30 a.m. at the park on Saturday. Breakfasts of pancakes, sausage, coffee and juice will be prepared and served by members of the Romulus Fire Department. The cost for the meal is $5 for adults and $4 for seniors. Children 4 and younger eat at no cost with the purchase of an adult breakfast. More information is available from Capt. John Thiede at (734)740-1194.

Also on Saturday is the popular Romulus Downtown Development Authority Pumpkin Festival Punkin Chuckin contest. The event will begin at 3:30 Sept. 16 at the festival hospitality tent. No pre-registration is required, although competitors are cautioned to warm up their throwing arms to compete for the various prizes.

In addition to the entertainment and games, a 5Krun and walk is planned for 9 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 17. The run will begin behind the Romulus Senior Center, 36525 Bibbins St. in Romulus. 

Check in will begin at 8:30 a.m., warm-up at 8:45 a.m. and the run will officially begin at 9 a.m. There will be first, second and third place prizes. Information is available at (734) 955-4521.

The Corn Hole Tournament sponsored by St. John's Lodge #44 will take place from 1 until 4 p.m. Saturday, north of the Historical Park Pavilion. The registration fee is $15 per person and advance registration is encouraged. There will be trophies for the first and second place teams and medals for the third-place team. 

The tournament is a benefit for the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America and donations are also accepted. For more information, call Brother James Brown at (734) 389-5372.

 The event is organized each year by a Pumpkin Festival Committee, first established in 1996 for the planning of the first festival in 1997. Members of the committee meet at 5:30 p.m. the first Tuesday of the month beginning in March to prepare for the September event. Meetings take place in Romulus City Hall Council Chambers at 11111 Wayne Road. 

For information, or to join the committee, call the Pumpkin Festival Hotline at (734) 955-4577 or email pumpkinfestival@ romulusgov.com.