With The Big Pumpkin Back, Halloween Is Halloween Again In Tolland

TOLLAND, CT — Those driving along Route 74, just below the Tolland Green to begin the week were greeted with a large, orange, smiling face.

Alas, Tolland's "Big Pumpkin" had returned and Halloween was Halloween again in town. It was joined by, as has been another custom, a large Jack Skellington of "Nightmare Before Christmas" fame.

That wasn't the case about two weeks ago, when a massive wind and rain store came into town on Oct. 12. The pumpkin, which sits at Kristopher Farley's home on Tolland Stage Road across from the senior center driveway, blew up.

That's right ... it went boom and sent orange shrapnel all over the yard. Remnants are still there.

Said Farley, "Well … it finally happened. After years of surviving wind, rain, and thousands of visitors, the 30-foot Tolland Pumpkin met its match today when it exploded in my front yard. Don’t worry, no one was hurt — except my soul. Pieces of orange fabric are currently scattered across the lawn like a Halloween war zone."

The pumpkin had become a focal point of Halloween in town, along with the scarecrow contest. Farley even let folks pull into a driveway cutout when they arrived to take photos with the Big Pumpkin.

Farley said he almost immediately has ordered a new one, which was originally a custom job. But he also started a Go-Fund-Me account to offset the costs. So far, a total of $3,238 has been raised out of a $3,500 goal. Donations are still being accepted.

The new Tolland Big Pumpkin is nearly identical to the one it's replacing, save for black eyes, nose and mouth instead of yellow.