Blog

Pump­kin Point Returns to Gov­er­nors Island on Octo­ber 22

Sep 28, 2022 10:12 am

The Trust for Gov­er­nors Island and the Friends of Gov­er­nors Island today announced the return of Pump­kin Point, a free annu­al pump­kin patch and fall fes­ti­val on Gov­er­nors Island. Locat­ed in his­toric Nolan Park, Pump­kin Point will bring over 1,000 pump­kins of all shapes and sizes to the Island’s his­toric dis­trict, trans­form­ing the idyl­lic set­ting along with its nat­u­ral­ly stun­ning fall foliage into a delight­ful­ly autum­nal escape with free pro­grams and activ­i­ties for vis­i­tors of all ages. Vis­i­tors are invit­ed to pick out their own pump­kins (free with sug­gest­ed dona­tion) on the week­ends of Octo­ber 22 – 23 and Octo­ber 29 – 30, 2022, from 10am to 5pm.

“Fall is the per­fect time to come explore Gov­er­nors Island – from beau­ti­ful fall foliage to a free pump­kin patch to excit­ing pro­gram­ming, there is some­thing for every­one,” said Clare New­man, Pres­i­dent and CEO of the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island. ​“We invite all New York­ers to hop on the fer­ry and take in the chang­ing seasons!”

This year’s fes­tiv­i­ties will include plen­ty of free fall moments, pump­kin paint­ing, and craft­ing activ­i­ties all tak­ing place Octo­ber 22 – 23 and 29 – 30, as well as a rotat­ing sched­ule of spe­cial events and per­for­mances from Ris­ing Sun Per­for­mance Com­pa­ny, Won­der­Spark Pup­pets, Drag Sto­ry Hour, Brook­lyn Mag­ic Shop, Fly­ing Leap Pro­duc­tions in col­lab­o­ra­tion with Gov­er­nors Island ten­ant Beam Cen­ter, the Nation­al Park Ser­vice, and more to be announced. A full sched­ule of each weekend’s events can be found online at www​.gov​is​land​.org/​p​u​m​p​k​i​n​-​point. Trick or treat­ing also returns to Pump­kin Point this year on Sun­day, Octo­ber 30 — cos­tumes encour­aged. Food will be avail­able for pur­chase onsite from Gov­er­nors Island ven­dors each weekend. 

Pump­kins left over from Pump­kin Point will be donat­ed to local orga­ni­za­tions fight­ing hunger in New York City, or com­post­ed on Gov­er­nors Island by Earth Mat­ter, which runs a Com­post Learn­ing Cen­ter at the Urban Farm on Gov­er­nors Island.

“Each year, this mag­nif­i­cent free pub­lic event brings togeth­er peo­ple from all over New York City to enjoy the fall atmos­phere here on Gov­er­nors Island — one of the Island’s most mag­i­cal times,” said Dan­ny DiMari­no, Senior Man­ag­er, Vol­un­teer & Vis­i­tor Engage­ment at the Friends of Gov­er­nors Island. ​“We can­not wait to wel­come vis­i­tors to pick up some pump­kins, enjoy free pro­grams, take in the crisp autumn air and chang­ing leaves, and bask in the most mag­i­cal time on Gov­er­nors Island.” 

In addi­tion to Pump­kin Point, vis­i­tors can enjoy a ros­ter of new events and activ­i­ties all month long: Gov­er­nors Island will par­tic­i­pate in For­est for All NYC’s inau­gur­al City of For­est Day with a vol­un­teer activ­i­ty and guid­ed tree walk on Octo­ber 15; Low­er Man­hat­tan Cul­tur­al Council’s Arts Cen­ter at Gov­er­nors Island, open Fri­days through Sun­days through the end of Octo­ber, will hold their month­ly Take Care Series on Octo­ber 16; FAD Mar­ket will hold their final fall pop-up on Octo­ber 15 and 16; NYCRUNS will hold their annu­al Haunt­ed Island 5K and 10K race on Octo­ber 29; Gov­er­nors Island Arts’ Orga­ni­za­tions in Res­i­dence con­tin­ue to present exhi­bi­tions and events in Nolan Park and Colonels Row through the end of Octo­ber; QC NY Spa is open dai­ly with dozens of well­ness expe­ri­ences and two large pools; and more. See a full event cal­en­dar at www​.gov​is​land​.org/​t​h​i​n​g​s​-​to-do.

Pump­kin Point is co-pre­sent­ed by the Trust for Gov­er­nors Island and the Friends of Gov­er­nors Island. Gen­er­ous sup­port for the event is pro­vid­ed by Nick­elodeon, Bloomberg Phil­an­thropies, and Intre­pid Productions.