If pumpkins weighing more than 1,000 pounds sound like the perfect backdrop for fall shots with your family, friends, and pets, head to Annapolis this month to experience the city’s Great Annapolis Pumpkins!
Visitors strolling through downtown Annapolis and the Annapolis Arts District will find gigantic pumpkins at four locations: in front of Visit Annapolis & Anne Arundel County’s 26 West Street Visitors Center; the Graduate Hotel at 126 West Street; on the front lawn of St. Anne’s Church on Church Circle; and next to Market House at City Dock. En route to the Great Annapolis Pumpkins, individuals with a keen eye will spy some impressive 300-pound pumpkins nestled amidst straw bales, mums, baby pumpkins, and corn stalks adorning the downtown area.
Visit Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Executive Director Kristen Pironis says her organization is pleased to serve as lead sponsor for the Downtown Annapolis Partnership’s Great Annapolis Pumpkins event. Additional sponsors include the City of Annapolis and the Annapolis Arts District. As Pironis sees it, “Fall is a beautiful time of year in Annapolis. We wanted to do what we could to help spread the word that now is the perfect time to visit. Being outdoors with family and friends, taking in the sights and sounds, and exploring the beauty of nature are what the season is all about. Add the magic of four 1,000+-pound pumpkins and you have a combination that’s hard to beat!”
Downtown Annapolis Partnership Executive Director Erik Evans says his organization is pleased to spearhead the Great Annapolis Pumpkin event for the second year in a row. “Our goal is to provide a fun, safe way for individuals of all ages to enjoy fall in Annapolis. While they may come for the pumpkins, we’ll encourage them to stay for the dining, shopping, and events Annapolis has to offer this season.”
Bumper Moyer, who heads up the Eastport “Neat Streets” initiative, trekked to a pumpkin weigh-off outside of Altoona, Pennsylvania, negotiated the purchase of the giant pumpkins and arranged for their transportation to Annapolis with the help of Garden Girls Landscaping earlier this month. City of Annapolis public works crews provided a forklift to unload and place the giant pumpkins around town.
To provide fun exposure for the many Great Annapolis Pumpkin selfies that will be generated, the Downtown Annapolis Partnership is hosting a photo contest through October 31. Individuals who take a picture or shoot a video of themselves with any of the giant pumpkins and post it on social media along with the hashtag, #GreatAnnapolisPumpkins, will be entered for a chance to win gift cards to favorite Annapolis-area restaurants, shops, attractions, and accommodations via random drawings throughout the month. Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, Ballet Theatre of Maryland, and Hobo Bags are among the participating businesses thus far. To keep tabs on the growing list of gift items, visit the Downtown Annapolis Partnership website.
Just before Halloween weekend, local artists will carve the giant Annapolis pumpkins, turning them into jack-o-lanterns for all to enjoy. After Halloween, the City of Annapolis will transport the massive jack-o-lanterns to Truxtun Park for composting through a City of Annapolis partnership with the local nonprofit, Annapolis Green. Last year, residents brought 6000 pounds of pumpkins to Truxtun Park after Halloween as part of Annapolis Green’s Great Pumpkin Drop-off. As it did in 2020, Annapolis Green will work with Veteran Compost in northern Maryland to turn this year’s pumpkins into Pumpkin Spice Compost, perfect for holiday gift-giving.
For a listing of things to do and see and places to stay during your fall visit to Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, visit the Visit Annapolis & Anne Arundel County website.
