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Festival Scares Up Cash To Support Charities

Kevin Howe/stringer photo

Kids young and old check out thousands of carved pumpkins that were illuminated during the FishHawk Ranch's Annual Life is Good Punkin Festival.

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By YVETTE C. HAMMETT, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 27, 2007

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LITHIA - The smell of fresh pumpkin floated throughout the grounds, encircling young goblins, fairies, ghouls and super-heroes.

For $5 each, families carved hundreds of pumpkins and gingerly placed them on tall shelves at one end of the park at FishHawk Ranch's Town Center, all in the name of wholesome fun and charity in the community.

Ten-year-old Haley Jones of Lakeland busied herself carving an angry face into a small pumpkin as her 6-year-old brother, Eric, watched.

'It's neat. This is our first time here,' her mom, Angie Jones, said at the Life is good Pumpkin Festival on Oct. 20.

Youngsters scrambled from one booth to another, stuffing tiny scarecrows, eating cookies upside down and jailing their parents for donations.

In the process, they turned a typical fall day into an autumn extravaganza.

Thousands attended this year's event. Proceeds will go to HomeAid, a leading national, nonprofit provider of shelter for the temporarily homeless, and the Pediatric Cancer Foundation, which funds research that could lead to the elimination of childhood cancer worldwide.

It was the second annual pumpkin festival sponsored by Newland Communities, the developer of FishHawk Ranch, and the Life is good clothing and accessories retailer.

The event was one of 11 held across the nation in Newland developments, including MiraBay in Apollo Beach. Last year's events brought in $400,000 for charities.

Abby Johnson, 9, of Indiana, and a cousin she was visiting, Brianna Johnson, 12, of FishHawk, were having fun entertaining German exchange student Esther Schumann.

'We're having fun, mostly,' said Abby, standing in line for a balloon. 'I think we might carve a pumpkin, and we might join the pie-eating contest.'

Farther down the sidewalk, volunteer Peggy Provanzana helped set out the makings for miniature scarecrows.

'This morning, the weather didn't look too good,' she said. But as the sky cleared, youngsters scampered to the booth.

'We're making puppets,' 8-year-old Sabrina Gillis of FishHawk said. Her dad, Rob Gillis, helped her tie small ribbons onto her scarecrow before getting back to his own volunteer work sponsoring a Wonders of Nature show for families.

Ten-year-olds Alexandra Plante and Katy Wood, both of FishHawk, practiced their moves for the impending costume contest. Alexandra came as a 1960s go-go dancer, and Katy was costumed as cartoon character Marge Simpson dressed as a 1920s flapper, practicing her Charleston moves.

'Last time, our favorite thing was the costume contest. I came as a fat chef,' Alexandra said.

Nina Balton got a few horrified looks from the tiny bats, vampires and basketball players passing her by. The 13-year-old dressed as a victim of the Salem witch trials. She was dressed in a black-and-white Pilgrim-style dress, with her neck covered with fake blood and wrapped in a noose attached to a hangman's platform she carried around in her hand.

'Last year, I just came in a regular costume,' Nina said. 'This year, I decided to get creative.'

Taylor Stephenson, 9, and Maddie Young, 11, spent time in the slammer after Taylor's dad paid to have them rounded up. A 'police officer' escorted them into a cell, where they had to sing 'Happy Birthday' before they could gain their freedom.

'I was just in the middle of the grass when I got handcuffed,' Maddie said. 'But, it's not bad.'

'Good communities rally around great events and great causes,' said Bert Jacobs, Life is good co-founder and chief executive 'optimist.'

HOW TO HELP

If you didn't make it to the festival but would like to donate to the Pediatric Cancer Foundation or HomeAid, find out more:

• The Pediatric Cancer Foundation was founded in 1970 by grateful parents whose son underwent surgery at what is now known as Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian. They realized malignant pediatric tumors were common, and advanced treatments are needed for children affected by such tumors.

PCF started with volunteers raising money and includes support for children afflicted with any type of cancer and their families through research and equipment needs.

For information or to donate, go to www.pcfweb.org.

• HomeAid, founded in 1989, is affiliated with the National Association of Home Builders and has provided housing for more than 80,000 people who have been made temporarily homeless due to circumstances beyond their control, including child abuse, domestic violence, HIV, AIDS or other illness, job loss and natural disasters.

HomeAid relies on donations 'to build dignified housing where homeless families and individuals can rebuild their lives.'

To be eligible for HomeAid housing, a charity must provide social services that enable families or individuals to move beyond their temporary situations and regain self-sufficiency by gaining education, job skills and physical and emotional support.

For information or to donate, go to www.homeaid.org.

Sources: www.pcfweb.org; www.homeaid.org

Reporter Yvette C. Hammett can be reached at (813) 657-4532 or at yhammett@tampatrib.com.

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