Herriman’s annual Great Pumpkin hunt brings community together
Nov 22, 2021 11:34AM ● By Karmel Harper
4-year-old Keaton Mascaro and his dog, Bear, proudly display Herriman’s Great Pumpkin after finding it near the Herriman Library. Photo courtesy of Julia Mascaro.
By Karmel Harper | [email protected]
From being tucked away within the shrubbery of a random field to being secluded within the belly of a local playground structure, the Herriman Great Pumpkin traveled to different spots in the month of October as an autumn community activity. Residents were encouraged to search for the decorative orange gourd around the city. Winners received prizes and gift cards donated by local businesses including Peach and Bee Produce, Erica Standing Osborne’s Color Street, Visenya Candles, Sweet Violet, Teri Webb Moji Life, Danny Cakes, Kazya Baum Clayton, and B.R.I.T.E. preschool. Winners had the responsibility of sharing a photo of their discovery, hiding the Great Pumpkin by 6 p.m., and posting a photo of their hiding place on the Herriman Happenings Facebook page. All locations had to be within Herriman City and publicly accessible.
Heather Fife Shay, one of the Herriman Happenings administrators said, “Part of a fun community is fun events. Herriman Happenings Great Pumpkin has been a group activity for several years. My favorite story is when the pumpkin went missing one year. I had to quickly make a new one and then re-hid it in the police station to ‘keep it safe’. There was also one year when the pumpkin was hidden in a field and there were literally five families looking for it at once.”
This year, the Great Pumpkin has been hidden and found in various places including Blackridge Elementary, the rodeo grounds, and near the JL Sorenson Recreation Center. Some residents, like Billy Porter, got creative by hiding it in a very obscure place within the branches of a random tree. But the clever sleuthing of Alyssia Brown Minaya’s family uncovered it by The Cove. Even cold, dark evenings won’t deter Herriman residents from finding the Great Pumpkin. On the evening of Oct. 15, it was hidden after dark and after seeing the posted photo hint, Jake Johnson jokingly said, “Do you think if we go pumpkin hunting with flashlights now Herriman's finest would appreciate the suspicious people out looking around with flashlights?” Fortunately, the pumpkin was found quickly by Brooke Owens before any alarm bells were sounded.
The Great Pumpkin is a fun Herriman tradition that brings businesses and neighbors together in a fun, family friendly, festive way.
