NORTH LOGAN—The annual Pumpkin Walk brings over 50,000 people to North Logan every year said Allan Luce, Director of Parks and Recreation.

The Pumpkin Walk was created in 1982 by Ida Beutler. It started as a fun activity for neighborhood children to participate in during Halloween. They would carve their own pumpkins and bring them to the Beutler farm to display.

Word of the pumpkin display got out to the community and the next year they had over 2,000 participants, said Gina Worthen, publicity director for the Pumpkin Walk.

Since the walk was getting so big the Beutlers couldn’t hold the event on their farm. So North Logan offered to help the Beutlers by having it at Elk Ridge Park, where it has been held ever since.

“This is the 27th year the Pumpkin Walk has been going on,” Worthen said. “It grows every year.”

Every year the walk has a different theme. The theme for 2010 is the magic of animation. Community members create scenes from animated movies and television shows using pumpkins and squash. There are 45 scenes and over 1,500 pumpkins, said Worthen. The city gets the pumpkins from a local pumpkin farmer who grows them especially for this event.

“It is such a huge event and it is all run by volunteers,” Luce said.

The walk is all volunteer-based and receives no profit. The city puts forth the money so that it can remain free to the public. There is a Pumpkin Walk committee that plans and organizes the event.

“I have been a volunteer for the walk for about 10 years now,” said Michelle Weaver, a North Logan resident. “I really like how it gets the community so involved and how everyone can pitch in.”

The scenes created by members of the community include movies like Finding Nemo and How to Train Your Dragon. And every pumpkin that lines the sidewalk is hand carved by community members.

“I like to say that behind every pumpkin is a volunteer,” Worthen said.

The Pumpkin Walk is free and open to the public Oct. 21-23 and the 25th and 26th from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Elk Ridge Park, 1100 E. 2500 North.

Published in cooperation with the Hard News Cafe. Original story is here.