The event’s pumpkins are all gutted and carved by volunteers, with many featuring popular characters and logos.
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Started in 1994 by the late Judith Chaffin, also known as “The Pumpkin Lady,” the first year saw Chaffin and her family carve and display 36 pumpkins.
The event would rise in popularity each year, slowly becoming a Dayton tradition.
“Everyone is so thankful and so kind, and it’s just a great thing. When you just go out there and take a look at it, I think it is just beautiful,” Chaffin said in 2015.
Every year before her death in 2018, Chaffin would set up a tent in her driveway to shelter the “Pumpkin Society,” the volunteers gutting and carving the pumpkins.
The Pumpkin Glow’s volunteer organization is now led by David Moyer of Keller Williams Advisors Realty, one of the event’s hosts.
To make sure guests can safely attend, Stoddard Avenue will be closed 5-11 p.m. both nights of the event. Food trucks, including El Meson and the Claybourne Grill, will be parked on the street during the event.
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
There will also be a tent at the top of Grafton Hill with refreshments.
Pets are allowed at the Pumpkin Glow, but organizers recommend keeping any animals on a short leash, as the hill’s path can become quite crowded.
Event organizers are currently looking for additional volunteers to help gut and carve this year’s pumpkins.
Those interested in volunteering can sign up for a shift, each lasting two to four hours, online. Pumpkin gutting will take place Oct. 24, with the carving taking place Oct. 25-27.
HOW TO GO
What: Stoddard Avenue Pumpkin Glow
When: 6-10 p.m. Oct. 28-29
Where: Stoddard Avenue, Dayton
More info: Facebook or graftonhill.org
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