New York Pumpkin Festival in Central Park on Oct. 25 to Feature Huge Pumpkin Tower Display - Thousands of Lit Jack-o-Lanterns

Thousands of New Yorkers expected at event to benefit Camp Sunshine, a retreat for children with life threatening illnesses and their families

NEW YORK CITY – The New York Pumpkin Festival in Central Park on Saturday, Oct. 25, will feature a huge pumpkin tower display with thousands of lit jack-o-lanterns and other activities to benefit Camp Sunshine, a retreat for children with life threatening illnesses and their families.

The free event for all ages, presented by the City of New York Parks & Recreation and Camp Sunshine, will take place from 3 to 8 p.m. on Oct. 25. Families should enter Central Park at 72nd Street in Manhattan. The event is sponsored by the SLE Lupus Foundation, the Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation, and others.

The fall festivities will include a scarecrow competition at Bethesda Fountain, a bone-chilling haunted house under the Bethesda Terrace Arcade, a pick-your-own-pumpkin patch at Cherry Hill and the stunning visual treat – a tower display of lit jack-o-lanterns at the Bandshell.

This is the second year for the New York Pumpkin Festival, which attracted thousands of participants in its debut in Central Park in 2007.

Camp Sunshine, located in Casco, Maine, offers children with life-threatening illnesses and their families a place to relax together for a week, and to take a break from the extraordinary demands placed on them on a daily basis. The year-round program is free of charge and staffed almost entirely by volunteers. It is the only program in the nation whose mission is to address the impact of a life-threatening illness on every member of the immediate family.

While attending the various week-long camps, families are able to rebuild relationships together and meet other families facing similar challenges. The program includes 24-hour onsite medical and psychosocial support. Bereavement groups also are offered for families who have lost a child to an illness.

“Since the opening of the Camp’s year-round campus in 2001, more ill children and their families have come from New York than any other state,” said Matthew M. Hoidal, Executive Director of Camp Sunshine. “In 2007, 190 families from New York attended the Camp. Sadly, even with multiple sessions being added annually at Camp Sunshine, there are still many more children from New York being newly diagnosed each year. This event will help us reach out to those families.”

All proceeds from the pumpkin festival will benefit Camp Sunshine. To support Camp Sunshine, please call (207) 655-3800 or visit www.campsunshine.org. For more information on the Pumpkin Festival, please visit www.campsunshine.org or www.nyc.gov/parks.

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