In the spirit of Halloween, Elliott Dining is offering a pumpkin decorating contest for students.
Contestants can pick up pumpkins from Elliott Dining as late as this morning. The pumpkins must be turned in by 1:30 p.m. to be judged.
The pumpkins are free and prizes include Ball State T-shirts and mugs. The judges will announce the winners at 5 p.m.
Elliott Dining has provided 180 pumpkins and so far 42 have been claimed, organizers said.
Anna Arison, unit manager of Elliott Dining, created the event. Arison is also one of the judges.
“It is just fun to do something different,” Arison said. “It makes you feel young.”
Rod Brooks, supervisor at Elliott Dining, said they are expecting 300 students to attend the dinner tonight.
“We want to do special events,” Brooks said. “Get more people coming.”
When the suggestion of a pumpkin decoration contest held by Elliott Dining was presented, Brooks was on board for the impact it would have on the students.
“[This is a] fun thing for the kids to do,” Brooks said. “It gives them something to do they wouldn’t otherwise.”
Since the event is new, organizers ran into a few obstacles.
“Next year, we will advertise it earlier,” Arison said.
As of Tuesday night, one pumpkin had been submitted to the contest.
