The lore of the Pumpkin People

BY AMY L. SMITH

NovaNewsNow.com

Ron and Sandra Lightburn have seen them annually; the frolicking pumpkin people of harvest time.

Every autumn these folk line the streets of Kentville, dressed as everything from fairy-tale princesses to extraterrestrials. While visitors come by day to view the gourd-headed creations, this Coldbrook couple is interested in the secret lives of pumpkin people when the harvest moon is high.

Their fantastic imaginings have been channeled into a wonderful new children’s story, aptly named Pumpkin People. With Ron crafting vibrant, captivating visuals and Sandra laying lines of sweet and playful rhyme, the award-winning team has captured the spirit of Kentville’s lighthearted tradition.

Each page of the book holds a new mood to carry readers through the story. Scenes of homey familiarity give way to spooky pumpkin silhouettes and a lively fire-lit ceilidh. Four main pumpkin characters show us their “odd and eerie pumpkin ways,” but attentive readers can find several more minute characters throughout the story. Detail throughout the book gives those sharing the tale a rewarding experience, whether the book is a new endeavour or evolves into a much-read storytime favourite.

The book’s quality is an excellent marriage of text and image, something that is easily seen as the result of a close relationship between illustrator and author. “It’s fun for an author and illustrator to get to talk because in most cases the only contact is through the editor,” said Sandra. Ron nodded in agreement.

Ron knows well what she means. He started his career as a children’s illustrator in a more traditional working relationship while Sandra was still working for the government. His first book, Waiting for the Whales, won the1992 Governor General’s Literary Award for Children’s Illustration as well as two other major awards.

Several years and books later, Ron and Sandra decided they would collaborate formally on her first effort as an author, Driftwood Cove. The story of two urban children who discover new perspective on the west coast, the book was lauded for its celebration of British Columbia’s elegant and haunting beauty.

Drew inspiration from their surroundings

When the Lightburns moved cross-country from Victoria in 1997, they drew inspiration from their surroundings once more. Arriving in the spring, they saw the summer unfold into arguably the Valley’s busiest and most beautiful season - autumn. They were struck by the curious tradition of pumpkin people and ideas began to percolate.

They say they first talked about the book where they do most of their brainstorming; over the sink while doing the dishes. The first sketches came almost immediately and the first draft was complete by 1999. All the while, the Lightburns continued to be adamant pumpkin people viewers and creators. They even decided to include a guide to making the ghoulish folk in the back of the book.

Finding a publisher proved a little more difficult than they had hoped, but the Lightburns are glad it was. “It was serendipity that we didn’t connect with the right publisher until we came to Nimbus,” Ron said. “They really understood what the pumpkin people were all about,” Sandra added.

With publisher and manuscript in hand, the team went to the town for its blessing. They described reading the book in council chambers like it was a first-grade classroom. “We had storytime with the mayor,” Sandra said with a smile.

The reaction was extremely enthusiastic and the town has jumped to integrate the Lightburns’ project into its autumn programming. The book’s launch will be held from 1:30-3 p.m. at the Kings County Museum Oct. 4, the first day of the Kentville Harvest Festival. Townspeople and visitors are invited to stop by for refreshments and view all of the book’s original artwork, which will be on display at the museum from Sept. 17 until Dec. 15. ‘We’re very excited about the book’: Mayor “We’re very excited about the book coming out,” said Kentville mayor Dave Corkum. “The pumpkin people have become a very integral part of our community. They bring a lot of tourists and people to see them, and certainly our citizens get a lot of enjoyment out of them themselves.”

Ron and Sandra are also thrilled to include the region’s children in the excitement. After all, readings at local schools helped to refine the book and they even used local kid-preference to help choose the cover art.

Ron and Sandra will hold a signing at R.D. Chisholm’s in Kentville Oct. 30 from 12-2 p.m. as well as a reading Oct. 28 at the Kentville Library at 10:30 a.m.

The mayor will read the story to the Grade 3 students at Kings County Academy Sept. 29 at 9 a.m. A colouring contest is also planned with entries distributed in The Kings County Advertiser.

As the nights get longer, anticipation rises for the Lightburns. The book is available now and Ron and Sandra are excited to see the local reaction.

The Lightburns said, “we’ve been here 11 years and this area has given us so much: our friends, our house, our garden and our lifestyle. This book is our way of giving back to the community.”