Cold, gray skies and damp weather greeted families at Shipyard Park on Saturday, October 17, but Kimberly Ray wasn’t particularly troubled by it.
“It’s fall weather,” said Ray, who started the Mattapoisett Lions Club’s Fall Free Family Fun Festival in 2016.
Many of Saturday’s younger visitors arrived in Halloween costumes, often with coats, hats and gloves added for warmth. Halloween songs played from speakers at the Shipyard Park gazebo while the Lions handed out cider, treats, and gift bags, and children picked out pumpkins to take home.
The Lions purchased 250 pumpkins for this year’s festival, typically enough for one per child.
The hayrides have become so popular that the Lions now use two tractors to carry families around town. Lines formed regularly throughout the afternoon. This year’s ride followed a different route because of repairs at Town Beach and a road closure affecting access to Ned’s Point.
At 1:00 pm, the Halloween music stopped and the gazebo became a science classroom.
“Jolting Jonathan” Breindel of Mad Science quickly had dozens of children raising their hands, listening for instructions and volunteering to participate. Mixing humor with science demonstrations, Breindel kept his young audience engaged while slipping in lessons about listening, taking turns and following directions.
Ray, a three-time past president of the Mattapoisett Lions Club, said she created the festival during her first term as president. Her goal was to give families an afternoon to enjoy themselves, regardless of their financial circumstances.
She wanted “a day where it doesn’t matter if you have money or not” and families could simply spend time together, she said.
Throughout the past 10 years, that commitment has carried the festival through changing circumstances. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Lions adapted the event into a drive-through celebration at Old Hammondtown School. The traditional gathering returned to Shipyard Park in 2021.
The festival has also evolved, with the Lions adding face painting and special entertainment. The Mattapoisett Fire Department supports the event by bringing a fire truck for children to climb aboard and explore.
Keeping the festival free requires both volunteer effort and financial support. The Mattapoisett Cultural Council awarded the Lions Club a $1,200 grant toward the event’s anticipated $3,000 cost. The Lions spent about $750 on pumpkins alone, plus additional costs for entertainment, face painting, refreshments and other supplies.
Current Lions Club President Paul Stubbs and club volunteers kept the activities running throughout the afternoon despite a turnout that appeared lighter than in recent warmer years. There were still plenty of families willing to embrace Ray’s assessment of the day as simply “fall weather.”
Jayla Cromwell of Wareham sat patiently as pink flowers were painted across her cheek, while Milania and Alexandria Amaral carried pumpkins and posed for a photograph with Marnie Amaral.
By Jeanne Hopkins