FCGC Volunteer helps young girl with pumpkin decorating.

By Tiffani M. Westbrook

Pumpkin carving was the favorite activity at the 17th annual Somerville Community Growing Center Harvest Festival this weekend. Organizers packed the event with so many hands-on activities, from butter churning to cider making, that many children did not want to leave when the event was over at 5:30 p.m. The festival focused on introducing the tastes and smells of nature to the city folks of Somerville. The center invited the community into their urban oasis behind Union Square where locals were encouraged to interact with nature and create change.

Despite having to move from Saturday to Sunday due to rain, the event was well attended and the Center was able to raise $500 through a silent auction that featured a Formaggio Cheese Cave tour for three. The event proceeds will go directly back into supporting the center in the work they do, creating an urban garden in the heart of Somerville.

Pumpkins made by two sisters, sitting on the corner stone from the old Southern Jr. High School.

For the past 15 years the event has been staffed by volunteers from the People Making a Difference Organization who also donated tools for pumpkin carving this year. The volunteers were taken on a tour of the garden center and were amazed by all the smells and tastes that the urban garden had to offer. PMD trained their volunteers on safety before they got down and dirty with the pumpkin carving.

“It is about people and community coming together.” said Lisa Brukilacchio, from the Growing Center, “we feel like it [the Harvest Festival] is an opportunity to engage families with children, which is our target population.” The event was a family friendly one for all ages and the activities, such as the butter churning, represented bigger life lessons for participants. Brukilacchio hopes that, “kids saw through the hard work of butter making that they could make change. It is a small example but part of the message that we want people to take away from this event is that you can make change.”