Photo Courtesy of Jaidyn Vorpahl
Have fun decorating your pumpkins this year!
Whether you are a fan of Halloween or not, you have to admit it is one of the coziest and most fun times of the year. All throughout autumn, especially leading up to Halloween, the plethora of seasonal activities that spring up are truly the best than any other time in the year. There is wonderful music, wonderful food, the joys of hayrides, and everything to do with the autumn harvests—apples, corn, and, most importantly, pumpkins!
During the Halloween season, there are plenty of these fun autumn activities going on around campus. One such activity took place just last week; on Friday, Oct. 16., Geneseo Late Knight (GLK) hosted a pumpkin painting event at CUPS—the lounge area just outside of Starbucks—in the MacVittie College Union. This event was hosted by the GLK senior intern, Anneke Rocheleau, and GLK employees, Krishtiano McGuire, Mariella Batista, and Seth Schoenthal.
GLK has hosted and will continue to host many fun, craft-style nights in the MacVitte College Union, such as the Paint & Sip that was just last month, but Pumpkin Painting is definitely a stand out. There is something whimsical about painting pumpkins that just cannot be rivaled by painting on a canvas.
The event started at 7 p.m. and went until 11 p.m., giving the students who went plenty of time to work on their soon-to-be masterpieces without feeling rushed. After checking in, there was quite a large selection of pumpkins available to pick from. They were a good size—not so small that there was not enough room to paint something extravagant on them, and not large enough that it would be a struggle to carry back to the dorms.
For all the pumpkins, there were at least twice as many paints to pick from, with every color that you could imagine from multiple different brands. If you were painting, you might find out that this specific shade or that specific brand was not sticking to the pumpkin very well, and it was no trouble at all to simply grab a different paint from the many options, and your problem was solved. The same is true for the paint brushes, of which there were many.
It was really a fun experience to be creative while being around the creativity of so many people. There were plenty of people getting into the Halloween spirit by painting the spooky faces of jack-o’-lanterns, or adding things like spiders or ghosts or even witches onto their pumpkins. I myself tried to give my pumpkin a scary feeling by painting some sort of monster trying to break out of the pumpkin. Of course, just because it is a Halloween themed event does not mean every pumpkin has to be scary. All creativity is great to see! There were some beautiful flowers being painted on pumpkins, or hearts on others. My friend painted an interpretation of Phoebe Bridgers’ Punisher (2020) album cover.
Even beyond the pumpkins, there was plenty going on at this event to help participants get into the autumn spirit. There were donuts given out for everyone to enjoy while they painted. Even some local apple cider—which was absolutely delicious—was brought out for everyone to enjoy.
If getting into the autumn spirit with Pumpkin Painting sounds like a lot of fun, do not worry, you have not missed out! GLK has planned plenty of other activities for the season of scary skeletons and falling leaves. Tomorrow, on Saturday, Oct. 24, GLK is partnering with the African Student Association (ASA) for “Beats of Africa: Halloween Edition,” as was posted on GLK’s Instagram. It will be in the MacVittie Union Ballroom at 7 p.m., so come with a costume and be ready for an amazing night of dancing and fun!