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About the Festival
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The first Virginia Pumpkin festival held over the October Bank Holiday in 2007 proved to be a fantastic success bringing crowds of up to ten thousand people to the picturesque east cavan town. The festival kicked off on Friday night when the town lights were extinguished and the glow of candle lit carved pumpkins illuminated the parade of brazillian dancers and fire throwers which made their way through the crowded street to the main stage on the square. The large crowds both young and old were witness to the birth of a new exciting chapter in the social history of the lakeside town. On stage Pat Mc Manus and Hi Voltage gave a rendition of rock and celtic rock and set the mood for the arrival of the The ALL Stars (David Beggy, Jack O Shea and Barney Rock) who were were warmly welcomed by the crowd whom they entertained in their own inimitable style.
The festival continued on Saturday with a wide range of activities for the young people to include pumpkin Olympics, art and crafts exhibition and a childrens party. The food and craft stalls along the main street and in Matthews yard brought a market air to the town. Local band RHETOFIRE opened the street entertainment on Saturday night and thrilled their young fans. Then followed the Pumpkin King and Queen competition when immaculately turned out Ladies and Gentlemen representing the public houses in the town were interviewed by Martin Shannon from Northern Sound. Following a tough decision the judges chose Avril Soden as Queen and Martin Tynan as King and they were presented with their crowns at the Barn Dance later on in the night.
On Sunday the businesspeople of the town took to the show field dressed in eyecatching outfits to show off their not inconsiderable array of footballing talents in the code of soccer, gaelic and rugby. Following a tightly contested match between the Sunny side and the Shady side of Main Street the referee Jimmy Cooney declared the result a draw although commentator Martin Tynan didn’t agree. Thankfully there were no injuries despite some robust tackles and the occasional red card. The proceeds of this charity Match were donated to Beaumont Hospital.
The main event of the Pumpkin Festival took place on Sunday afternoon. . The moment of truth had arrived for the pumpkin growers who had carefully transported their giant pumpkins from all over the country to compete in the biggest pumpkin competition. Pumpkins were measured on stage and commentator Eoin Mc Connon kept the large crowd entertained interviewing the growers and getting some gardening tips from Donal Mc Evoy of Pergola Nurseries. The winner of the first ever Virginia Pumpkin Competition was Ed Molloy from Granard Co. Longford . Prizes were presented to other category winners.
As darkness fell the town sprang to life once more with the fantastic Whirlygig Fire parade commencing at the courthouse and winding its way down to the lakeshore. This was a sight to behold with a fabulous carnival atmosphere engulfing the town. The costumes were fantastic and the fire performers enthralling. The local children who were trained to take part in the parade were in seventh heaven. The large crowd who followed the parade to the lakeshore were then treated to a unique fireworks display for 50 minutes with the fireworks shooting out over Lough Ramor creating a magnificent spectacle.
As evening passed to night and the tired children headed for home the town took on a new identity. Fancy dress became the order of the night . The costumes ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous and from the original to the tried and trusted . Virginia took on the mantle of a town at play happy at the end of a great weekend.
The committee for the 2010 Virginia Pumpkin Festival:
Chairman Jimmy Murray
Vice Chairman John O'Reilly
Secretary Rta Martin
Assistant Secretary Joanne Brady
Joint Treasurers Marian Smith / Aileen Dolan
Pumpkin Coordinator Donal McEvoy
Finance Committee Michael Maguire, Paddy Dunne, Sean Lynch, Chris Smith, Marian Smith & Aileen Dolan
Pumpkin Festival Committee
Paddy O'Reilly, Thomas Farrelly, Thomas Fitzsimons, Alfie Henry, Philip Tobin, Pete Tiernan, Niall McNamee, Neville Armstrong, Karl O'Dowd, Tony Farrelly, Helen Henry, Fintan Cahill, Kathryn Cahill, Dermot Smith, Michael Soden, Eugene O'Dwyer, Declan Ferguson, Peter McGrath, Gerry Fitzsimons, Markus Hofmann.
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