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Dairy Queen, Rush Church sponsor pumpkin hunt
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Gwendolyn Lolakis (left) of Canfield was one of the lucky winners at the Canfield Dairy Queen’s annual Pumpkin Hunt on Sept. 22. She won a pumpkin full of prizes and was planning to share it with her brother, Owen (right).
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Jill Barton, children’s pastor of Rush Church, served as master of ceremonies and revved the children up to start the Canfield Dairy Queen Pumpkin Hunt on Sept. 22.
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Seven-year-old Ava Westover filled her pink plastic pumpkin with real mini pumpkins and candy at the Canfield Dairy Queen Pumpkin Hunt on Sept. 22.
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Children lined up and went over their strategy before the start of the Canfield Dairy Queen’s annual Pumpkin Hunt on the Green on Sept. 22.
By ABBY SLANKER
The children of Canfield did not let the cloudy, cool weather deter them from participating in the Canfield Dairy Queen’s annual Pumpkin Hunt by searching through seven bales of straw strewn across the Green for all kinds of goodies on Sept. 22.
Dairy Queen staffers and volunteers from Rush Church, of Canfield, hid 500 mini pumpkins and candy in the straw on the Green for the children to find. According to Canfield Dairy Queen owner Ronald Rapp, this is the eighth year for the event.
“This is our eighth year holding the Pumpkin Hunt. We started this event after we saw how successful our Easter Egg hunt was, which we hold each spring,” Rapp said.
Jill Barton, pastor of Rush Church, was master of ceremonies and revved the children up before starting the hunt.
“Are you a pumpkin hunter?” she asked the children. “Let’s get warmed up. Everyone run in place. Now let’s do some jumping jacks,” Barton said before starting a countdown to the start of the hunt.
Each mini pumpkin had a number printed on it and when the children were done sifting through the straw, they were asked to check their pumpkins, as corresponding numbers were chosen at random with gift certificates for Dairy Queen treats, such as Dilly Bars, ice cream sandwiches, ice cream cakes and plush Blizzards, being given away as prizes. Barton pulled the winning numbers and helped the Dairy Queen staff hand out the prizes.
Rush Church provided the sound system and volunteers also helped the Dairy Queen staff clean up the straw after the event.