Imagination Library plans pumpkin-carving fundraiser

Prizes will be awarded at the library's fall festival on Oct. 28 for scariest, funniest, most creative and cutest pumpkins.

The Hopkinsville-Christian County Imagination Library has announced plans for a pumpkin-carving contest that will raise money for the early literacy program. 

Participants will pay a $20 entry fee and pick up free supplies, including a pumpkin and a carving kit, at the public library between Oct. 19 and 24.

Then the carved pumpkins will be returned to the library by 4 p.m. on Oct. 28 for judging. Prizes will be awarded at 5:30 p.m. for best pumpkin in four categories — scariest, funniest, most creative and cutest. 

H&R Agri-Power is a partner in the fundraiser, and Superlawn & Garden Center is donating the pumpkins, according to a press release from Imagination Library coordinator Ka’Dessa Snorton. 

The pumpkin carving fundraiser will be a part of the fall festival from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Oct. 28 behind the public library in the amphitheater. The Christian County Public School Early Literacy Initiative is a partner in the festival. The event will include a bounce house, games, face painting and educational activities.

Imagination Library provides a free book every month for children from birth to age 5. There are currently more than 3,300 children enrolled in the program. Families can enroll their children online

Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.