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City of Bloomington’s Parks & Recreation brings families together for a Great Pumpkin Hunt

The City of Bloomington’s Parks & Recreation Department is putting a festive twist on fall fun with its Great Pumpkin Hunt. This interactive, citywide contest encourages families to get outdoors, explore local parks and compete for prizes. The event kicked off on Friday, Oct. 3, at 11 a.m. when the first two clues were posted on the Great Pumpkin Hunt Facebook event page. According to Recreation Program Manager for Aquatics and Youth Sports in Parks & Recreation Cody Demas, the event was designed to bring residents together while highlighting what Bloomington’s park system has to offer. “We have 42 parks in the City of Bloomington system, and we wanted to offer a festive event to create more awareness around the community of what each park has to offer,” Demas said. “The goal is community engagement and family fun.” Planning for the event began over the summer to ensure it would be featured in the department’s fall program guide. “It took us a couple of months to logistically plan the event,” Demas said. “Our SOAR [Special Opportunities Available in Recreation] team coordinated a pumpkin painting event as a group activity after I had given them assigned themes for each park. Our marketing team promoted the event on our social channels and publishes our weekly clues. I was responsible for purchasing the pumpkins, creating the clue content, organizing our prize baskets, and deploying the pumpkins to each site on a weekly basis.” Safety and accessibility were priorities throughout the planning process. “I try to be mindful that this is a family event and not intended to be an overly complex pumpkin hunt,” Demas said. “I intentionally try to keep the pumpkins near a sidewalk so that those in wheelchairs are able to participate, and we provided almost a full six days for participation so that people could fit it around their busy schedules.” Each week, participants follow new clues that hint at the location of hidden pumpkins throughout Bloomington’s park system. Demas said he and his team took a creative and educational approach when writing them. “When creating the clues, I sat down with several members of our team individually to gather some history and context surrounding each park,” Demas said. “I wanted to insert a trivial spin on the clues that people of all ages may be able to remember, appreciate or learn about each of our parks.” Participation has been strong since the hunt began. “After the first week, we’ve had about 50 participants so far,” Demas said. “Feedback has been great! We received some praise about Eagle View Park, in particular, being a baseball-themed park with a preschool-specific playground; it was a location not previously known about or utilized by a couple of our participating families.” To keep the competition lively, the department has put together prize baskets valued at over $100 each for the top three winners. “In each basket we have family passes to visit our zoo and aquatics facilities, open skate and skate rental vouchers at our ice center, a voucher for a free bucket of golf balls at the Den at Fox Creek or Prairie Vista Golf Course, City of Bloomington swag and miscellaneous Parks and Recreation merchandise,” Demas said. The event will conclude Friday, Oct. 31, when winners are announced and photos from the hunt are shared. “At this time, we are planning a grand announcement on our Facebook page, thanking everyone for participating, showcasing some event pictures, and announcing the winners of the event,” Demas said. Demas said community-oriented events like the Great Pumpkin Hunt serve as more than just seasonal entertainment; they strengthen local connections and community spirit. “Events like this are great because it does not cost anything to participate and is open to all ages,” Demas said. “Anytime we can create a positive impact on our community and give them something to look forward to, that is a way for us to make life better for all of our residents.” While this is Demas’s first year organizing the event, he hopes to continue the tradition. When asked if he plans to continue or expand the Great Pumpkin Hunt in future years, he said it was to be determined. The Great Pumpkin Hunt has a lot of support, and everyone helping to organize this event cannot wait to see it expand in the coming years, spreading fall spirit and smiles.
ANDREW DOBRA | News and Features Reporter | Thu, Oct 16, 2025

The City of Bloomington’s Parks & Recreation Department is putting a festive twist on fall fun with its Great Pumpkin Hunt. This interactive, citywide contest encourages families to get outdoors, explore local parks and compete for prizes. The event kicked off on Friday, Oct. 3, at 11 a.m. when the first two clues were posted on the Great Pumpkin Hunt Facebook event page.

According to Recreation Program Manager for Aquatics and Youth Sports in Parks & Recreation Cody Demas, the event was designed to bring residents together while highlighting what Bloomington’s park system has to offer.

“We have 42 parks in the City of Bloomington system, and we wanted to offer a festive event to create more awareness around the community of what each park has to offer,” Demas said. “The goal is community engagement and family fun.”

Planning for the event began over the summer to ensure it would be featured in the department’s fall program guide.

“It took us a couple of months to logistically plan the event,” Demas said. “Our SOAR [Special Opportunities Available in Recreation] team coordinated a pumpkin painting event as a group activity after I had given them assigned themes for each park. Our marketing team promoted the event on our social channels and publishes our weekly clues. I was responsible for purchasing the pumpkins, creating the clue content, organizing our prize baskets, and deploying the pumpkins to each site on a weekly basis.”

Safety and accessibility were priorities throughout the planning process.

“I try to be mindful that this is a family event and not intended to be an overly complex pumpkin hunt,” Demas said. “I intentionally try to keep the pumpkins near a sidewalk so that those in wheelchairs are able to participate, and we provided almost a full six days for participation so that people could fit it around their busy schedules.”

Each week, participants follow new clues that hint at the location of hidden pumpkins throughout Bloomington’s park system. Demas said he and his team took a creative and educational approach when writing them.

“When creating the clues, I sat down with several members of our team individually to gather some history and context surrounding each park,” Demas said. “I wanted to insert a trivial spin on the clues that people of all ages may be able to remember, appreciate or learn about each of our parks.”

Participation has been strong since the hunt began.

“After the first week, we’ve had about 50 participants so far,” Demas said. “Feedback has been great! We received some praise about Eagle View Park, in particular, being a baseball-themed park with a preschool-specific playground; it was a location not previously known about or utilized by a couple of our participating families.”

To keep the competition lively, the department has put together prize baskets valued at over $100 each for the top three winners.

“In each basket we have family passes to visit our zoo and aquatics facilities, open skate and skate rental vouchers at our ice center, a voucher for a free bucket of golf balls at the Den at Fox Creek or Prairie Vista Golf Course, City of Bloomington swag and miscellaneous Parks and Recreation merchandise,” Demas said.

The event will conclude Friday, Oct. 31, when winners are announced and photos from the hunt are shared.

“At this time, we are planning a grand announcement on our Facebook page, thanking everyone for participating, showcasing some event pictures, and announcing the winners of the event,” Demas said.

Demas said community-oriented events like the Great Pumpkin Hunt serve as more than just seasonal entertainment; they strengthen local connections and community spirit.

“Events like this are great because it does not cost anything to participate and is open to all ages,” Demas said. “Anytime we can create a positive impact on our community and give them something to look forward to, that is a way for us to make life better for all of our residents.”

While this is Demas’s first year organizing the event, he hopes to continue the tradition. When asked if he plans to continue or expand the Great Pumpkin Hunt in future years, he said it was to be determined.

The Great Pumpkin Hunt has a lot of support, and everyone helping to organize this event cannot wait to see it expand in the coming years, spreading fall spirit and smiles.

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