On a rare Saturday off from shooting weddings, I had the pleasure of taking the Maine Snapshot Studio to Camp Sunshine's Pumpkin Festival fundraiser at L.L. Bean's flagship store campus in Freeport. I worked with Abby of Dead River Company to offer free photo booth snaps to anyone who wanted one. In the spirit of Halloween, I spied tons of costumes that needed to make an appearance in the booth, though I think I only snagged one costumed dog. I was glad I wore my long johns and layers to muster through the surprisingly cold day. But it was totally worth it for such the great cause that Camp Sunshine stands for and all the good that they provide to kids and their families with life threatening illnesses. It was an absolute pleasure to meet all the employees from Dead River who volunteered to help out at their booth. They even came in second in the pumpkin carving contest, 58 pumpkins carved in 10 minutes -- only three pumpkins shy of first place!
This was my first year ever at Pumpkin Festival and I was floored at how many pumpkins were lining the streets as I pulled in to town and even more as I rolled out. Every single one was lit with a real flame-burning candle. The goal was 10,000 carved pumpkins and a tent full of volunteers cranked out carving after carving all day long. The energy was great, the entire day's sights and sounds just made you smile.
Abby and the Dead River crew, it was great to meet you all and hope we can work together again at next year's event! I smell victory for you in the pumpkin carving contest!