iStock/Dmytro Varavin
It’s tradition every Halloween for many folks to get a pumpkin, carve it up and create a jack-o’-lantern. Some go all out and create sprawling porch displays with hay bales and gourds of all kinds. But once the trick-or-treaters have come and gone, it can feel anticlimactic to just shove all those decaying squashes into the compost bin.
Why not send them off in a family-friendly way with the City of Edina’s annual Pumpkin Smash & Bash? Grab your pumpkins, and bring them to Countryside Park. If you like, give your pumpkin one last hurrah with a pumpkin rolling contest. Then when you are ready to say goodbye for the season, place your pumpkin into a slingshot and fling it into oblivion.
The pièce de résistance is the Edina Fire Department’s rescue truck. Event organizers will choose a few pumpkins to drop from the top of the ladder. The goal is to hit the giant bullseye on the ground.
All smashed and bashed pumpkins will be collected by Vierkant Organics for composting. Those who’d like to get their pumpkins composted but don’t want to participate in pumpkin destruction can simply drop off their gourds during the event.
Pumpkin Smash & Bash; 10 a.m.–noon, November 2. Countryside Park, 6240 Tracy Ave. S.; edinamn.gov
