Senior David Wurtzbacher says Project Pumpkin, now in its 21st year, is a favorite tradition for students year after year.
The Great Project Pumpkin
Annual Halloween festival brings together students and children for an afternoon of scary fun
After four years volunteering with Project Pumpkin, senior David Wurtzbacher knows that the annual Halloween event is a tradition close to the hearts of Wake Forest students.
Every year since 1988, local children have celebrated Halloween on campus with college-age clowns, ninjas and penguins. About 1,000 children are expected for this year's Project Pumpkin on Oct. 27. The children are selected by numerous community agencies. Hundreds of Wake Forest students volunteer to ensure that the children enjoy an afternoon of trick-or-treating, carnival activities and games on Hearn Plaza.
"I remember thinking freshman year that taking children around trick-or-treating is the most fun I've had at Wake Forest," recalls Wurtzbacher, this year's student chair. "I love the energy of being around kids. It's a unique form of service, and the creativity and youthfulness required for Project Pumpkin are the kind of elements that will define my community service work after graduation."
Wurtzbacher says logistics are the most challenging part of the event. Busloads of children arrive and leave at different times, and student volunteers are responsible for returning every Silly-String wielding ghost and ghoul to the right place for their return ride.
This year's event will feature live entertainment from student musical groups, including Chi Rho, Minor Variation and Innuendo, and a "Mad Scientist" show by the chemistry and physics departments. The event is organized by students and sponsored by the Volunteer Service Corps. Food Lion, a long-time chief supporter, donates thousands of pieces of candy and hundreds of apples each year.
"There are a lot of traditions at Wake Forest that capture the hearts of students, but Project Pumpkin has always been the one that touched me the most," says Wurtzbacher, a finance major from Centennial, Co. "I hope every Wake Forest student has a chance to spend time with the children."
