Organizers Set Goal of 10,000 Lit Jack-o-Lanterns for ‘Gourd’ Time at Camp Sunshine Pumpkin Festival

L.L. Bean to host pumpkin-filled day of live music, children’s activities, costumes, contests and prizes – all to benefit children and families in need

Freeport, Maine - Organizers of the 10^th annual Camp Sunshine Pumpkin Festival have set a goal of displaying 10,000 illuminated jack-o-lanterns at the day-long, family-friendly charity event next weekend in Freeport, Maine.

Proceeds from the Saturday, Oct. 27 event, presented by Hancock Lumber and TD Bank, will benefit Camp Sunshine, a one-of-a-kind national retreat in Casco, Maine for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. The pumpkin festival is set for noon to 8 p.m. at L.L. Bean’s flagship store in downtown Freeport.

Each pumpkin is sponsored with a $10 donation – and only pumpkins that get sponsored will be carved and displayed. Camp Sunshine has set a goal to raise $100,000, enough to cover the cost of an entire week at camp for more than 50 families.

To sponsor a pumpkin, visit www.campsunshine.org/pumpkinfestival or text CAMP to 20222. Festival participants also can help by sponsoring pumpkins at the event. As of Oct. 17, 6,067 pumpkins have been sponsored, more than halfway to the 2012 goal.

“We’re hoping to double our efforts over 2011 when 5,200 pumpkins were illuminated and create an even more spectacular display this year to cap a fun-filled day of activities for the entire family,” said Matthew M. Hoidal, Esq., executive director at Camp Sunshine.

The Pumpkin Festival will feature kid’s activities, entertainment, food, costume parade, corporate carving challenge, pumpkin whoopie pie eating contest and a full schedule of bands rotating on stage throughout the day.

To encourage pumpkin sponsorships, Camp Sunshine has expanded the drawing giveaways to lucky sponsors. Ten round-trip JetBlue tickets and 10 $100 L.L. Bean gift cards are being awarded – one set of each after each increment of 1,000 sponsored pumpkins is reached.

Also, several new teams have signed up to take part in the Corporate Carving Challenge and vie for the title won by Downeast Energy last year. Teams of up to 10 people are given 10 minutes to carve as many pumpkins as possible. Any corporate team that wishes to join should call Camp Sunshine at (207) 655-3800 or visit the festival website for more info.

In addition, several southern Maine schools have joined forces to assist in pumpkin prepping and will deliver as many as 5,000 carved pumpkins to the event. The effort is led by Freeport schools –Freeport High School, Freeport Middle School, Mast Landing School and Morse Street School – and also includes Cheverus High School, Falmouth Elementary School, Gray-New Gloucester High School, Lake Region High School and Mt. Ararat High School.

Besides Hancock Lumber and TD Bank, other event sponsors include WCSH6-TV, 94.9 WHOM, Q97.9,  and Iberdrola USA/Central Maine Power Company, JetBlue, Maine Magazine, NAPA Auto Group, ReVision Energy, Seacoast Scaffolding, Spectrum Medical Group, and Village Candle.Meanwhile, L.L. Bean has generously committed to funding event expenses, ensuring that all event income will go directly to helping families at Camp Sunshine. 

Over the years, Camp Sunshine’s pumpkin festivals have raised more than $1 million to help keep the camp’s programs available to families year-round, free of charge.

About Camp Sunshine

Camp Sunshine offers children with life-threatening illnesses and their families a place to relax together for a week, and to take a break from the extraordinary demands placed upon them on a daily basis. The year-round program is free of charge and staffed almost entirely by volunteers. It is the only program in the nation whose mission is to address the impact of a life-threatening illness on every member of the immediate family – the ill child, the parents and the siblings. Since its inception in 1984, Camp Sunshine has provided a haven for more than 32,000 individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. In addition to providing 24-hour on-site medical and psychosocial support, the camp offers a variety of daily activities, including swimming, boating, archery and soccer, and special events such as bonfires and cookouts. To support Camp Sunshine, call (207) 655-3800 or visit www.campsunshine.org.