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Great Pumpkin Challenge Tradition To Continue

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The Great Pumpkin Challenge, founded by Mackenzie Page in 2011 when she was in eighth grade at Newtown Middle School, will return for its tenth presentation this Halloween season.

Mackenzie was inspired to support her friend, Zoe McMorran, who was diagnosed with brain cancer. She challenged residents to carve a pumpkin and drop it off for display at her family’s Main Street home with a suggested $5 donation for the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a summer camp serving children and families with cancer and other serious illnesses.

The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp was founded in 1988 by Paul Newman, with one simple premise in mind: that every child, no matter their illness, could experience the transformational spirit and friendships that go hand in hand with camp. The camp provides “a different kind of healing” to more than 20,000 seriously ill children and family members annually — all completely free of charge. The camp is a community that celebrates fun, friendship and the spirit of childhood.

In 2016, when Mackenzie was heading off to college, the youth of Trinity Episcopal Church took on the role of hosting the annual fundraiser and pumpkin display on the church’s grounds at 36 Main Street.

This will be the fifth year Trinity Church will be hosting the Great Pumpkin Challenge and everyone is again invited to participate in the inspiring Halloween tradition. Jack-o’-lanterns can be goofy, frightening, funny — anything goes.

Carved pumpkins and donations will be collected in front of Trinity Church, 36 Main Street (the stone church by the flagpole), on Sunday, October 25, from 3 to 5 pm; Monday, Wednesday, and Friday October 26, 28 and 30, from 4 to 6 pm each night; and then on Saturday, October 31, from noon to 3 pm.

Those interested in participating are also invited to place their pumpkin on the scaffolding anytime on or after October 25, and mail their donation to Trinity Church, 36 Main Street, Newtown CT 06470. Donations can also be made online through trinitynewtownct.org. One hundred percent of the donations will go to the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp.

This Halloween season marks the tenth installment of the Great Pumpkin Challenge. Trinity Episcopal Church will host the event for the fifth time, and is hoping to once again offer a display of carved pumpkins while also raising funds for The Hole in The Wall Gang Camp. —Bee file photo
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