In Lake George each year, the weekend following Halloween brings the Adirondack Pub & Brewery’s Pumpkin Chunkin’ festival. What began a decade ago as a catapulting contest, with long-armed trebuchets sending Halloween pumpkins soaring over the brewpub’s event grounds, has evolved into a unique celebration evoking ancient Samhain traditions as the Wheel of the Year slowly turns toward the Winter Solstice.
On Saturday afternoon, under gray skies and trees stripped bare by November’s winds, several hundred gathered to watch medieval battles, magic, and flying pumpkins at the 9th annual Adirondack Pub & Brewery Pumpkin Chunkin’.
The autumn celebration features a medieval village with a working forge operated by an Adirondack Folk School blacksmith, a performance by the Gem Radio Theatre Dancing Witches, magic by illusionist Ryan Bliss, and battle demonstrations by The Shire of Glenn Linn and other North Country Medievalists.
Food trucks, a beer wagon, merchandise vendors, and carnival rides filled the grounds, and attendees could try their skills at archery, axe-throwing, and aligning a slingshot to send an apple to its target. In the background, throughout the afternoon, festivalgoers would hear a continual thump of pumpkins hitting targets as a pair of trebuchets were put to work.
Photos: Pumpkin Chunkin’ 2026
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