Do you like smashing pumpkins? No, we don’t mean the band fronted by that creepy looking bald guy with the “zero” t-shirt – we’re talking about that annual cathartic ritual favored by rebellious adolescents everywhere Halloween is celebrated. Though traditionally associated with antisocial tendencies, this year we’ve been given permission to smash away – by a schoolteacher, no less!
At Calabazafest! on Sunday, a teacher from PS123K handed us a flyer for the first annual Pumpkin Smash, to be held this Saturday in Maria Hernandez Park. Instead of throwing your rotting jack-o-lantern out with the trash you can bring it to the park, give it a satisfying smashing, and donate the pulpy orange mess you’ve made to community composting intiative BKROT, whose youth bike couriers will take it to compost sites throughout the neighborhood. Bushwick Eco Action Network (BEAN) volunteers will be facilitating the Pumpkin Smash together with students and teachers from PS123K, which is just across the street from the park on Irving Avenue – and which has its own school garden. BEAN says that the event “brings awareness to community composting and the value of organic waste as a local soil building resource.” Eventually, the pumpkin remains will turn into compost that could be donated to a community garden or farm near you. Turns out smashing pumpkins can actually do our community some good – well, as long as it’s your own jack-o-lantern and you’re not crushing not some stranger’s Halloween spirit.
The first annual Pumpkin Smash will take place Saturday between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. in Maria Hernandez Park.
