Annual Pumpkin Shine looking for talented jack-o-lantern carvers | Community Spirit

Wednesday night's your chance to show off your pumpkin carving skills. Close to 1,000 jack-o-lanterns will light up the walking trails at Betty Virginia Park Wednesday night for the 21st Annual Pumpkin Shine On Line, hosted by Southfield School and sponsored by SPAR-Shreveport Public Assembly and Recreation.

The Pumpkin Shine begins at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 24 inside Betty Virginia Park, which sits at the corner of Line Ave. and Ockley Dr.

Come stroll through the park for this annual Shreveport tradition. Families and friends, young and old alike, will enjoy the great variety of pumpkins carved by children, school classes, families and other pumpkin artists.

Area school bands and choirs will provide entertainment. Community leaders are asked to judge the entries each year. Prizes are awarded for the best jack-o-lanterns, and all participants receive a Pumpkin Shine ribbon. Cash prizes will be awarded to the three schools with the most jack-o-lantern entries.

The event is FREE. Park at Mall St. Vincent (Dillard’s lot) and ride the FREE shuttle to the park entrance. The shuttle runs from 5-9 p.m. Security is provided, and pizza, soft drinks and other concessions will be available. Proceeds from the concessions, donated by Southfield School parents, support beautification projects at Betty Virginia Park.

To enter a pumpkin, bring your carved or decorated creations to the park between 2-4 p.m. Volunteers from Southfield School will organize the arrangement and lighting of pumpkins around the park’s paths.
This community service project was started in 1992 by the Southfield School Parents’ Association. Former preschool teacher Claudia Lyles had seen a similar event in another state and approached the parents about hosting this event in Shreveport. Pumpkin Shine is now one of the most celebrated and anticipated fall traditions in our community.

The event is hosted each year by Southfield School, a private independent school for students in preschool age 2 through 8th grade, and is sponsored by Shreveport Public Assembly and Recreation. The rain date for this event is Thursday, October 25 at the same time. For more information, contact Southfield Director of Communications Angie Cason at acason@southfield-school.org or (318) 213-6343.

For updates on the event, “like” the Pumpkin Shine page on Facebook,  www.facebook.com/pumpkinshine. For more information on Southfield School, visit www.southfield-school.org.