The Great Painted Pumpkin Festival Oct. 24 in Downtown Lafayette

The Great Pumpkin Festival, an annual fundraiser benefiting nonprofits in Acadiana, will take place at Parc International in Downtown Lafayette at 3 pm on Saturday, October 24.

The event is hosted by Latter & Blum and will team up with Movies in the Parc for a fantastic day of fun for the entire family. The featured movie that night will be "Jurassic Park."

The Painted Pumpkin Festival team will provide paint, markers, other decorating materials, and pumpkins to attendees. Adults and children can have fun testing their creative abilities while benefiting a variety of Acadiana area nonprofits.

A panel of judges will select first, second, and third place winners in a variety of categories. The contest will award cash prizes to winners, and face painting will also be offered to families.

There are some changes to this year's festival. Participants must wear masks and practice social distancing. Children under the age of eight are encouraged to wear a mask.

Also, due to current state mandates on outdoor event capacity, everyone must pre-register to attend. All registered attendees can bring a painted pumpkin to enter into the pumpkin judging contest or paint a pumpkin on site.

To register for the event, go to the Eventbrite site: http://bit.ly/PaintedPumpkinsLFT. Registration is $5 per painted pumpkin contest entry and $5 per movie ticket.

Painted pumpkin contest winners will be announced at approximately 6:30 pm and the movie will begin around 7:00 pm.

For more on the Festival, visit its Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/346129046469497.