KEENE, NH – The Keene Pumpkin Festival is set to make its return this weekend nearly a decade after rioters left the future of the event uncertain.

The festival has been on somewhat of a hiatus since the 2014 riots, with a few, much smaller events held in its stead since then. Let It Shine is bringing it back this year and incorporating a few beloved elements of the event pre-2104, while trying to keep it small enough that issues of that scale don’t arise.

Let It Shine Board member Mike Giacomo appeared on WKBK’s What’s Happening program on Saturday and said this year’s event will be a be scaled up a bit more from the last few years, but it won’t be quite as big as the community may remember it being in the early 2000’s. This year’s event will feature a few key elements, including the famous pumpkin tower at Central Square, vendors, school participation, and road closures.

Keene used to compete to break the record for the most lit pumpkins in one place by having folks bring their jack-o’-lanterns and register them in the festival. Giacomo says that’s one element they’re skipping.

“We’re not going for a record. We realized that was the number one thing that we needed to nix from the festival,” Giacomo said. “I know for a lot of people that’s all that mattered about it …. but we did that … and I think that’s what drove the festival larger and larger, and ever larger, and right now the goal is to not drive it larger.”

Keene Police Chief Steve Stewart joined WKBK’s Open Mic program on Tuesday and said officers will be on high alert, but he doesn’t foresee things escalating to the level they did in 2014.

“We’re not at 2014 levels by any regard the event’s not either,” Stewart said. “The event is organized by well-meaning people who want to bring a nice event back to Keene. We just need to balance that desire with making sure it doesn’t grow into what it had grown into before, and we’re working closely with the college to monitor what’s going on there and do some pre-groundwork with key stakeholders in terms of what behavior is expected.”

The 2023 Keene Pumpkin Fest is set for Saturday, October 21st in Downtown Keene from 2-7 pm rain or shine. The Keene Police Department released the following list of road closures and parking restrictions for the whole day:

Road Closures:
Central Square
Roxbury Street from Roxbury Plaza to Central Square
Church Street from just West of the 9-17 Church St. lot entrance to Main Street
Railroad Street from Wells Street to Main Street (w/ local traffic only on Wells St.)
Main Street from Railroad Street and Gilbo Avenue North to Central Square
West Street from Federal Street to Central Square
Court Street from Mechanic Street to Central Square
Washington Street from Spring Street to Central Square (local traffic only from Spring Street to City Hall Parking Garage)
No Parking:
Central Square
Roxbury Street from Roxbury Plaza to Central Square
Church Street from just West of the 9-17 Church St. lot entrance to Main Street
Railroad Street from Wells Street to Main Street
Main Street from Railroad Street and Gilbo Avenue North to Central Square
West Street from Federal Street to Central Square
Court Street from Mechanic Street to Central Square
Washington Street from Spring Street to Central Square

More information about this year’s event is available at Pumpkinfestival.org.