Have you ever felt the need to pick up a bat and savagely smash a pumpkin to bits while your family stands by watching? Well, then you're in luck.
Step aside New York City Marathon runners, the annual Pumpkin Smash extravaganza is back at Hudson River Park at Pier 84 near West 44th Street and 12th Avenue in Manhattan on Sunday. The idea is to reduce the city's carbon footprint by collecting old pumpkins and converting them to compost for the park instead of having them taken to landfills.
According to a press release from the New York City Parks Department, which is helping to promote the event, you get "fifteen minutes of smashing" and your choice of bat or hammer to do the job.
Listen to David Furst's report on WNYC:
Noreen Doyle, Hudson River Park's president and CEO, told Harlem World Magazine that the event "perfectly combines two aspects of Hudson River Park’s mission: environmental stewardship and fun.”
“By encouraging our community to smash, bash and crash their leftover pumpkins into compost, we can all play an active role in working towards a greener future," Doyle said.
Pumpkin bashers are supposed to bring their own carved jack-o-lanterns or un-carved pumpkins, as well as safety goggles if you have them. And due to COVID-19 precautions, pre-registration is required (you can register here).
And then you'll be able to wrap up the Halloween season, pummeling pumpkins, as nature intended.
The big event runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is part of a series of pumpkin smashing events happening across the city this weekend, with New Yorkers bringing their orange gourds to sites across the city so they can be converted to compost.
