The festival is expected to draw 5,000 visitations over the long weekend to the museum, according to Railway Village Executive Director Margaret Hoffman.
“From the beginning, it has always been a very charming event,” said Hoffman. “It’s always included music, it’s always included food, it’s always included craft.”
More than 100 vendors will set up on the museum’s Village Green. “You’re going to meet the people who are selling you their wares, whether it’s fine art or craft,” Hoffman said.
Live performances will take place throughout the weekend.
A 425-pound Atlantic Giant Pumpkin, grown at the museum, will be carved at the festival by stone sculptor William Jacobs of Richmond. One doesn’t need to be a master sculptor to carve a pumpkin at the festival, however. Folks of all ages will have a chance to carve their own pumpkin at the museum and enter it into the carving contest.
The museum’s steam train will run every half hour during the festival.
In honor of its 50th anniversary, the festival will, for the first time, be a three-day event.
Hoffman described the festival as an event geared more toward locals that marks the end of the summer shoulder season.
“A lot of our events draw people from out of state,” she said. “Our car shows draw people from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont. But this event … for the local community, really marks the end of the season. It’s that transition from when we share Maine with all of our visitors, and when we get to have it for ourselves.”
“There aren’t a ton of events that have been going on for 50 years in Maine,” Hoffman said.
The festival is one stop along Maine’s Pumpkin Trail, a partnership celebrating history, art and pumpkins along 50 miles of coastal Maine. Pumpkin-themed activities are taking place at the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, and Boothbay Railway Village and Farnsworth Art Museum, as well as the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest and Regatta.
For more information, visit railwayvillage.org/event/fall-foliage-festival/.
jswinconeck@timesrecord.com
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