You’re Invited to the Hillsdale Pumpkin Festival

The ninth annual Hillsdale Pumpkin Festival will take place at businesses throughout Hillsdale and in the town’s Hamlet Park, at the corner of State Routes 22 and 23, on Saturday Oct. 10 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

As reported in a media release, you'll be able to enjoy live music, seasonal displays & activities, a bake sale, a pumpkin pie-baking contest, community tables, police and sheriff’s department exhibits, a takeout BBQ dinner and, this year, a 'Gathering of Scarecrows,' a competition to create and decorate scarecrows honoring “essential workers and hometown heroes.”

In addition you can tour the Columbia County Sheriff Department’s Remote Police Command vehicle and sign up for the agency’s Child ID program from noon to 2 p.m.
The fun doesn't end there, visit the dogs of the New York State Police Canine Patrol with demonstrations at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. And check out the State Police 'Rollover,' which simulates the injuries in a 35 m.p.h. crash on crash dummies to promote seat belt use, at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.

Scarecrows will gather at Hillsdale Town Hall at 11 a.m. and move down Main Street to Hamlet Park for display all day. You'll be able to vote for your favorites, with the winners announced at 3:30 p.m.

At the Roe Jan Library one mile south of the Hamlet Park, children can enjoy pumpkin painting starting at noon (free, pre-registration required, call 518-235-4101or email director@roejanlibrary.org).

The Hillsdale Fire Department will hold a BBQ ($15, pre-order required, call 518-325-4721 or 518-325-5537). Food will be available for pickup at the fire station, just north of the hamlet on Route 22, starting at 4 p.m.

Event co-founder Paul Amash Jr. said: “We are a small town, with a small festival but we do it like we do everything, with a big heart.”