The Madison Beach & Recreation Department is calling all residents young and old who have a propensity for pumpkin carving to help make Halloween a little spookier this year—and possibly pick up a prize along the way.

The inaugural Pretentious Pumpkins on Parade contest will display any carved or decorated pumpkins submitted by residents on Friday, Nov. 1 in front of Memorial Town Hall, 8 Meeting House Lane, adjacent the green where the town’s Trunk-or-Treat will fill the lawn from 4 to 6 p.m. Both events were moved from the original date of Thursday, Oct. 31 due to weather concerns.

The Trunk-or-Treat, sponsored by the Madison Chamber of Commerce, the Town of Madison, Madison Department of Police Services, Child & Adult Orthodontics, The Country School, and Madison Beach Hotel, has drawn hundreds of costumed kids over the years. In addition to being a safe, fun place to trick or treat, it’s where winners of the annual Scarecrow Contest will be announced.

The Beach & Recreation Department is hoping attendees will keep the creativity flowing with carved jack-o-lanterns and will hand out prizes to outstanding pumpkins in various categories, from cutest to most creative.

“I’m excited to see what people are going to come up with...but it’s just so much fun to see. It brings people back to old-fashioned fun,” said Recreation Supervisor Carrie Gazda. “You kind of forget about stuff after a while, all the cool stuff you did [for Halloween] that doesn’t really cost a lot of money. It brings you back to that family time.”

Gazda said she was inspired by similar events around New England, where many towns have made annual traditions out of so-called “pumpkin blazes.” Gazda said that “years ago,” a Madison organization had held a similar event, though the town itself had not been involved.

The unique name of the event actually grew from a sudden and unexpected interstate legal challenge, Gazda said, which is just as bizarre as it sounds.

The Oct. 31 event was originally named “Pumpkin Blaze.” Gazda said a week or two ago, she received a certified envelope from Historic Hudson Valley in Tarrytown, New York, informing her that Madison’s event was in violation of a copyright they held to use the world “blaze” when referring to any pumpkin lighting event. The letter insisted that Madison change the name, which Gazda did.

“Something we thought no one would steal,” Gazda laughed.

Gazda said she actually did some more research and found several other names that Madison had considered also had potential copyright issues.

“Pretentious Pumpkins” was entirely original though, she promised, and also something everyone involved was happy with.

Naming controversy aside, Gazda said she hopes the event will also become an annual tradition in Madison. Coordinating with the Madison Chamber of Commerce and Department of Police Services, which run the town’s Trunk-or-Treat event, Gazda said adding a plethora of uniquely designed jack-o-lanterns will add an extra Halloween flavor to the town’s fall festivities.

“We want it to be something for all ages, so anyone can participate,” Gazda said, “and we just want to have a bunch of pumpkins set up on display.”

Gazda said she has been promoting the event wherever possible, as a larger collection of pumpkins can only add to the holiday atmosphere. Gazda also said she wanted people to be able to participate even if they could not be at the green or were not participating in the Trunk-or-Treat. There are no requirements to be in attendance to win a prize, Gazda said, and contestants can drop off their pumpkins in the afternoon, between 3 and 3:30 p.m. on Halloween Day.

Pumpkins that are not picked up again after the contest will be donated to Barberry Hill Farm, so Gazda encouraged those who wanted to keep theirs to pick them up after the event.

Gazda also emphasized that no one should feel uncomfortable submitting due to a lack of carving experience, or even if they didn’t carve their pumpkin at all. Drawing on pumpkins was perfectly acceptable, she said, and that these types of pumpkins would absolutely be able to win prizes in various categories.

The only restrictions Gazda set was to make sure each pumpkin has been scooped out so it can be lit from the inside, and to keep all designs PG-rated: nothing too gross or too spooky for the family-friendly event.

Going forward, Gazda said she can’t wait to see how the event will grow. She said she hoped to extend the displays over a couple days, if the town does it in the future.

Most important, though, as many pumpkins as possible.

“I want to make it so we have to scramble to figure out what we’re going to do [with all of them],” Gazda laughed.

To register for Pretentious Pumpkins or for more information, call or email Carrie Gazda at 203-245-5623 and gazdac@madisonct.org, or visit www.madisonct.org.

For Trunk-or-Treat weather updates or registration information, follow the Madison Chamber of Commerce on Facebook or visit www.madisonct.com.