PUMPKINTOWN — The 35th annual Pumpkin Festival is coming on Saturday, Oct. 12. The theme for this year’s festival is “35 Years-Memories.”

As usual, the day will begin with the festival parade around 9 a.m. that begins at the Pumpkintown Fire Department and ends after passing the Oolenoy Community Building (5301 Dacusville Highway – S.C. 135).

Festivities will continue until 5 p.m. Saturday afternoon and crowds in the 30,000 to 50,000 range is expected to attend this much anticipated event.

So come early and bring your blankets and lawn chairs to set up in front of the music stage and enjoy the day long music and cloggers, and you also wander through the grounds which will have more than 165 arts and crafts booths containing a variety of handmade/homemade products (no commercial products are allowed at this festival). Also there will be a number of food booths selling hamburgers/cheeseburgers, hot dogs, sausage dogs, turkey legs, chili, fried fish, fried pies, brick oven/wood fired pizzas, and our famous barbeque chicken dinner plates.

Then you can finish off all these offerings with a wide variety of treats such as funnel cakes, cookies, cup cakes, cotton candy and delicious homemade ice cream. Breakfast items will be offered inside the Community Building starting at 6 a.m. that morning.

Amusement rides for children will be available on the back side of the festival grounds. Cotton candy and kettle corn will be set up in the children’s area.

Festival souvenirs will be available outside and inside the Community Building, which will include T-shirts, sweat shirts, totes, car tags, and books written by local authors. A large display depicting the early days in the Oolenoy Valley will be on exhibit inside the Community Building.

Also inside the Community Building you will find a table set up for the sale of raffle tickets for the festival quilt which is given away each year.

The quilt for this year was designed by Susie Flowers and quilted by Ann Stowe. Tickets for the quilt are $1 each, and the drawing will be held at 4 p.m. that afternoon and you do not have to be present to win.

The greased pole climb will again be held at 3 p.m. in the afternoon. Pole climbers must be 8 years old or older.

Pumpkins of all sizes will be available for purchase at the entrance to the Community Building. TD Bank will have a tent set up with paints available for children to dress up their pumpkins. The pumpkin pile is also a popular spot for parents to take pictures of their kids.

The festival is free and open to the public. Handicapped parking is available in the Oolenoy Baptist Church parking lot and golf carts will be available to shuttle folks to and from the festival grounds throughout the day.

No pets will be allowed on the festival grounds unless it is a service animal.

The annual event is sponsored and organized by the Pumpkintown Community Club and it raises money for community projects that benefit many area organizations.

For additional information on the festival or rental of the Oolenoy Community Building contact Susie Flowers at 864-898-0261.