What is Faison’s Amazing Pumpkin Palooza?

Faison’s Amazing Pumpkin Palooza is a spectacular fall event put on by The Faison School for Autism that celebrates the art of pumpkin carving. Teams of up to four people will carve 50, 100+ pound pumpkins into intricate masterpieces that are judged in a variety of categories and is great fun for both participants and attendees!

General Information

Pumpkin Palooza will be held at the Science Museum of Virginia, 2500 W Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23220

Friday, October 17 – Carving and Preview Party, 6-9 pm – festivities include:

• Viewing the carving teams in ACTION
• Entertainment, heavy hors d’oeuvres, beer and wine are included
• Musical Entertainment — Honkey Tonk Experience — honkeytonkexperience.com.
• Advance tickets are required for the preview party, $50 per person

  Some sponsorships include reception tickets.

Saturday, October 18 – Family Festival, 11am- 8pm – festivities include:

• St. Catherine’s Lower School Chorus — 11:00 AM
• Freeman Highschool Cheerleaders — 11:00 AM
• St. Christopher’s Lower School Chorus — 11:30 AM
• THE SWINGERS — 12:00 PM
• St. Andrews Legion Pipes and Drums — 12:30 PM
• St. Gertrude High School Ensemble — 1:00 PM
• The Florettes — 1:30 PM
• Richmond’s International Brotherhood of Magicians Ring 180 — 2:00 PM
• Ezibu Muntu Dancers — 2:30 PM
• Spidey the University of Richmond Spider — 2:30-4:00 PM
• Bonnie the Bunny — 2:30-4:00 PM
• Costume Contests — 3:00 PM
• Betsy Q — 4:00 PM
• Shield Tae Kwon Do — 5:30 PM
• Maggie Walker Jazz Ensemble for the Lighting of the Pumpkins — 6:30 PM
  

The GIANT Pumpkins
Pumpkins are locally grown at Grandma’s Pumpkin Patch in the Richmond area. Pumpkins will be judged in the following categories:

• Best in Show — Batzli Woods & Stiles “Frankenstein”
• People’s Choice — Batzli Woods & Stiles “Frankenstein”
• Carver’s Choice — Batzli Woods & Stiles “Frankenstein”
• Most Original — The Faison School Teachers “Pumpkin ‘Pi’”
• Most Halloween — Carmax “Trick or Treat”
• Best Use of Pumpkin — The Faison School Teachers “Monkey”
• Honorable Mention — Blue Stone “Sea Turtle”

  
  
  

The Contests
I. Costume Contest, 3:00 pm — We will divide costume participants by ages 4 and under,
5-10, 11-15, 15+ and pet. Costumes will be judged and awarded certificates in the following categories:

• Most Halloween
• Most Original
• Honorable Mention

II. Pumpkin Bowling — You read that right! This is something you have to see to believe! Come check it out!

Sponsors
Sponsors include:

• Bon Secours Children’s Services
• Bon Secours Richmond Health System
• Richmond Times-Dispatch
• Free Agents Event Management
• Science Museum
• Children’s Museum
• B103.7
• Richmond.com
• CarMax
• BB&T
• Markel
• Baskervill
• Hourigan
• Napier Realtors
• Radio Communications
• TNT Automotive
• Owens & Minor
• Dr. Carl Atkins
• CRERUN
• TriAd
• CWD Kids
• Batzli, Wood and Stiles
• Chesapeake Corporation

Sponsorships are available, from $750 – $25,000. Please see website for more information

 

What is the Faison School for Autism?
Autism is the fastest growing developmental disability, and today 1 in 150 children are born with autism.

The Faison School for Autism (TFSA) is the only university-affiliated school of its kind in the greater Richmond area to serve the special needs of children with autism. The school serves as a behavioral laboratory of best practices that can be disseminated to the clinical, educational, and research communities. The school’s off-site services are expanding rapidly to meet the need for in-home and community training and programming, and our outreach services to the public and private schools will help reach more students

The academic program is year-round and intensive. Each week involves close to 30 hours of one-on-one therapy between each child and a trained specialist. Our faculty members also work with parents, guiding them through the parent-child therapy each family undertakes at home.

Education, research, training, and measured outcomes are key components of The Faison School’s approach to providing a higher quality of life for children with autism in central Virginia. Our relationships with Virginia Commonwealth University, Columbia University, and the Kennedy Krieger Institute at Johns Hopkins University help us stay on the cutting edge.

Mission Statement: The Faison School for Autism is dedicated to giving each child the best chance he or she has to improve their life’s journey. The School employs a three-pronged approach of empirically driven treatment, research, and training to best serve our students. Our philosophy is a holistic one, focusing on the child, their family, and all those who touch and enrich their lives.

For More information, or a tour of the new home
of The Faison School for Autism and
the Faison Centers of Excellence,

Contact Faison’s Amazin'
Pumpkin Palooza

1701 Byrd Avenue
Richmond, VA 23230
Phone: 804.612.1947
E-mail: sswope@thefaisonschool.org


To get Involved
Artist_Carving_Team_Application.pdf (pdf)
Sponsorship_form 2008.pdf (pdf)
Pumpkin-Sponsor-Benefits List (pdf)

See what else is going on.
2007-2008 Calendar (pdf)
Upcoming Events