The Adirondack Pub & Brewery launched the first Pumpkin Chunkin’ in 2016 as a way for people to enjoy the tail end of autumn by heaving their Halloween Jack O’ lanterns from Medieval catapults. The event, held the Saturday after Halloween at the event space adjacent to the brewery, has grown to include a carnival midway, a Medieval village and battle demonstrations, rides, games, food trucks, merchandise vendors and live music.
Adirondack Brewery owner John Carr estimates nearly 1,000 people attended the 2023 Pumpkin Chunkin’, which included performances by the Gem Radio Theatre dancing witches and interactive storytelling by Thimbleberry the Woodsprite. Throughout the day, the Saratoga-based band Wandering Monsters provided live music on the outdoor stage.
The Shire of Glenn Linn, a local chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism, recreated a Medieval village on the grounds, which included a blacksmithing forge manned by Adirondack Folk School instructors. The Shire held battle demonstrations on the pumpkin-smashing field with Asgar the Butcher battling Dane, the Dane from Denmark, and Giovanni the Wanderer from Naples. Onlookers were given flags in the color aligned with their chosen warrior to wave during the bouts.
The Society for Creative Anachronism, part of the living history movement, is an educational not-for-profit that furthers research in the arts, sciences and cultures of the past. The Shire of Glenn Linn originated in Glens Falls and includes lands in Warren and Washington Counties and parts of Hamilton, Essex and Saratoga County.
Thimbleberry the Woodsprite, also known as Jess Kingcoombs, entertained children and adults by telling fairy tales with an interactive component. Throughout the tales, Thimbleberry would hold up signs prompting her audience to react at pivotal points in the plot. Kingscoombs explains a woodsprite is a type of fairy from the English/Celtic tradition. She performs at festivals, fairs and private parties telling lesser-known tales. “I don’t do Grimm tales,” she says, preferring to resurrect obscure tales from across the globe.
Grondahl’s Wizard Workshop, a mobile marvel filled with wand-making machinery, was on the grounds and, for $5, guests could make their own magic wand. Wax n’ Wix of Lake George also inspired creativity with their candle-making booth. Other activities included axe throwing and archery.
Throughout the event, people launched pumpkins from the trebuchets stationed at the back of the event space and flung apples from slingshots. The 2023 Pumpkin Chunkin’ closed with a pumpkin drop, billed as “The biggest pumpkin drop this side of the Mississippi,” a claim no one challenged. Several dozen Jack O’ lanterns were dropped from a height of 40 feet.
Featured image: The Wandering Monsters, a Saratoga-based group, performs on the center stage at the 2023 Pumpkin Chunkin’
Photos: 2023 Pumpkin Chunkin’ at Adirondack Pub & Brewery
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What an absolutely delightful event!