The City of Kenai hosted its 9th annual Fall Pumpkin Festival on Saturday.

The community event, put on by Kenai Parks and Rec at Kenai’s Millennium Park, was attended mostly by parents and their children.

There were hayrides, face painting and a pumpkin-decorating contest for the kids.

The weather for this event wasn’t ideal for being outdoors, but that didn’t stop people from showing up. Near the end of the festival, however, it stopped raining, and the wind died down a little.

Vendor Beth McDonald, with Frostbit Fins, loves the festival and thinks it’s a great community event. “We love it, because no matter what the weather, everybody comes out and has a good time.”

The main attraction of the festival was the pumpkin drop. Kenai Vice Mayor Henry Knackstedt was selected to drop the pumpkin at 2 p.m. This year, if the target was hit, everyone in attendance was given a coupon for free ice cream.

Knackstedt did not disappoint. He hit the target with every one of the pumpkins he dropped.

When asked about what was going through his head and how he dealt with the pressure of not disappointing the children, the vice mayor said that he had used the smaller pumpkins to help him get him ready for the bigger pumpkin, adding “so I’m really glad that all the kids are going to get ice cream.”

Jonas Oyoumick is interning with the Peninsula Clarion through the Kenaitze Indian Tribe Daggeyi internship program.

Kenai Vice Mayor Henry Knackstedt drops a small pumpkin from the basket of a fire truck at the 9th annual Fall Pumpkin Festival, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jonas Oyoumick/Peninsula Clarion)

A young boy plays tic-tac-toe with pumpkins at the Fall Pumpkin Festival, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jonas Oyoumick/Peninsula Clarion)