With Halloween just around the corner, communities find special ways to get into the fall spirit.
Wakarusa, Indiana does just that, but with a bigger twist than expected. The Elkhart County town celebrates fall with its annual pumpkin tree, a 17-foot high stand that holds over 200 pumpkins and weighs about 2,000 pounds.
The pumpkin tree began in 2007, when the town’s deputy clerk-treasurer came up with the idea to spruce up downtown Wakarusa for fall and bring more people into town.
“We wanted something that was different, that not everybody does.” Wakarusa Clerk-Treasurer Joyce Hartman said. “We thought it might bring some people in because we’re a very small town.”
Photo courtesy of Wakarusa Chamber of Commerce.
The idea was officially approved by the city council, and the rest is history. During the first few years, the city had an official ceremony for the pumpkin tree, complete with a “pumpkin topping ceremony” to place the biggest pumpkin at the top.
Now town maintenance puts on the top pumpkin while the top part of the stand is half as high, then connects it to the bottom half. The whole process of placing the pumpkins on the entire stand takes only about 30 minutes, according to Hartman.
Deb Shively, the executive secretary of Wakarusa Chamber of Commerce, currently buys the pumpkins in bulk at Wakarusa Produce Auction.
“I usually get 200 to 230, in case any aren’t good and round,” she said.
The pumpkin tree is right at the center Waterford and Elkhart streets and is up from October 8 to October 31. This coincides with the town’s annual harvest fest, which has been a Wakarusa tradition since the 1960s.
Photo courtesy of Wakarusa Chamber of Commerce.
The fest has a cakewalk, costume contest and offers free cider, donuts and hayrides to festival goers. Just over 10 years old, the pumpkin tree tradition has already become a mainstay of the harvest festival, according to Hartman.
It has also been embraced as a photo opportunity for both Wakarusa townspeople and visitors.
“Most people love it, it’s unique, and tons of people come and take their pictures beside it. Some make it like a family picture, that you [use the tree to] judge how you grow each year,” Shively said.
She joked that the only thing to worry about is people taking pictures by the tree in the middle of traffic.
Shively said that putting up a 17-foot pumpkin tree in their downtown may have been a gamble, but it’s one that has paid off and given Wakarusa something to call its own.
“We’re pretty open around here to different ideas, and if someone has a good idea we try it,” she said.
This year’s pumpkins are sponsored by the Community Foundation of Elkhart County, and Wakarusa Harvest Fest will be Saturday, October 27 from 6 to 9 p.m.
