Weather-resilient residents wouldn’t miss the annual Great Pumpkin Race and Fall Festival

Some rain and a bit of chilly weather didn’t stop Montgomery Village Foundation from hosting The Great Pumpkin Race and Fall Festival for the 14^th year on Saturday, Oct. 14, at North Creek Community Center. Colorful decorations and costumes, tense racing action, plenty of family fun and pumpkin-themed everything, along with scrumptious food and backdrop music by DJ Big Court, all came together and set the mood again this year as families from across the Village, armed with rain gear, gathered with pumpkin racers in hand to enjoy the festivities and try their luck at racing away with the coveted Pumpkin Racer Trophy.

Before the races started, festival goers had an opportunity to chat with local businesses and organizations, play carnival games, ride the rides, taste the festival food, visit with some friendly animals in the petting zoo, pose for pictures with Keyote of the Frederick Keys and MVF’s very own Great Pumpkin mascot, and participate in pumpkin-themed crafts, face painting and balloon art. Back by popular demand this year was the beer garden, which gave adults a place to taste local beverages with their meal, and the petting zoo, which kept visitors, especially the littlest ones, busy before and after their racers were eliminated.

The test track and racer garage were busy up to the last minute with racers trying to gain the competitive edge—or at least figure out how to roll straight enough to cross the finish line! The last-minute tinkering paid off, as a few race heats came down to the wire. Each racing heat had its own set of thrills, whether it was bumping or bouncing off the hay bales or full-on racing down to the end. But the best part, as always, was the smashing of cheater racers. This year, 72 pumpkin racers competed in the judging competition.

Congratulations to these Great Pumpkin Race Medal Winners for 2023:

• Best Decoration: “UFO 2000” by Miryam Valdez
• Most Innovative Design: “Benji’s Revenge III” by Benji Lou
• Most Disguised: “Chicken-Eggs Press” by Gorden Robinson
• Scariest: “BokoBlin from Legend of Zelda” by Nathaniel Hlebowski
• Prettiest: “Ariel” by Nancy King
• Best Animal Look-a-Like: “Corgi Brothers” by Ben Browne
• Best Cartoon Character: “Wall-E” by MVF Architectural Standards Department
• Best Themed Racer Duo: “Formula for Speed” by Zedan Saltibus
• Biggest Cheater: “Joker” by Karla Short
• Judge’s Pick: “Turbo!” by Benny Gargulinski
• Judge’s Pick: “Firetruck” by Hutton Ball
• Judge’s Pick: “The Great Pumpkin Racer” by the Lewis Family  

And, congratulations to the 2023 1st Place Trophy Winner in The Great Pumpkin Race: “The Great Pumpkin Racer” by the Lewis Family!

To see the highlights of the event, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIPosWouagA

MVF would like to thank our generous sponsors, elected officials and participants in the event, including:

• Senator Nancy King (D39)
• Delegates Gabe Acevero and Greg Wims (D39)
• Montgomery County Councilmembers Sidney Katz (District 3) and Dawn Luedtke (District 7)
• Police Commander Eric Stancliff and Community Services Officer Melanie Romano
• Montgomery County 6th District Police
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• DJ Big Court
• Churros, Inc.
• D’s Smokehouse BBQ
• Fantasy World Entertainment
• Flame and Cones Pizza
• Frederick Keys and Keyote
• Georgetown Hill Early School
• Kona Ice
• Little Miner Taco
• Lone Oak Farm Brewing, Inc.
• Marieem Caribbean Cuisine
• Montgomery County Democrat Club
• Montgomery County Republican Party (MCGOP)
• Montgomery Village Animal Hospital
• Renewal by Andersen
• Roy Rogers Restaurants
• ServPro of Gaithersburg
• Squeals on Wheels Petting Zoo

Next year’s Great Pumpkin Race and Fall Festival is sure to bring even more competition and excitement—keep your wheels, or find new ones, and start planning your racer now! The 2024 Great Pumpkin Race and Fall Festival is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 5—see you then!