This year has been a very productive growing year at the Jamestown Community Farm and this is especially true of the pumpkins. The farm has hundreds of healthy orange, big and little pumpkins. What to do? The Jamestown Community Farm and the Conanicut Island Grange have an idea.

Cooking demonstration

On Wednesday, Oct. 5, at 7 p.m., the Grange and farm will sponsor a “Ways to Eat a Pumpkin” cooking demonstration featuring retired Master Chef Phil Larson, formertly of the Moorings Restaurant in Newport and Master Chef Kevin Gaudreau of Tratoria Simpatico in Jamestown. Additionally, there will be a pie baking demonstration using pumpkin from a pumpkin not a can.

Participants will be provided with the recipes from the demonstration and a bag of pumpkins to take home to practice with. Because space at the grange hall kitchen is limited the demonstration will be limited to 25 participants and pre-registration is required. There will be a tax deductible registration fee of $20 and the proceeds from the event will be divided equally between the Conanicut Grange and the Jamestown Community Farm. The grange hall is located on West Street just east of the St. Matthew’s church parking lot.

Pumpkin Hay Ride

On Saturday, Oct. 8, Nick Robertson, owner of North Meadow Farm, and the Jamestown Community Farm are sponsoring a pumpkin hayride at the Jamestown Community Farm at the corner of old Eldred Avenue and East Shore Road.

The event will run from 1 to 3 p.m. and feature Nick’s team of horses pulling a wagon loaded with children through the fields to the pumpkin patch, where they can select a jack-o-lantern-sized pumpkin of their choice. There will not be a charge for this event. However, there will be the opportunity to provide a donation, and all donations will be shared equally by the Jamestown Community Farm and the Conanicut Island Grange.

The Jamestown Community Farm, the Conanicut Island Grange, and Jamestown farmers are committed to keeping local agriculture a viable, sustainable, and enjoyable element of the Jamestown community. They believe there is a very real qualityof life element associated with farms, working landscapes, and fresh local farm products.