Pumpkins recycled in 'launch'

Aside from the usual ghosts and chainsaw massacres, this weekend Bloomington residents might want to keep an eye out for flying pumpkins. \nThe Great Bloomington Pumpkin Launch is giving participants the opportunity to test their pumpkin chucking skills Saturday as a way to recycle left-over pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns. Check-in begins at 11 a.m. and the event starts at noon. \nBloomington Parks and Recreation has teamed with Hilltop Garden and Nature Center, 2301 E. 10th St., to sponsor the annual event, now in its third year. Launched pumpkin remains will be left and tilled to help enrich the soil at Hilltop for next year's growing season. Hilltop is a facility operated through the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.\n"Most people just end up throwing pumpkins away after Halloween," said Becky Barrick, community events manager for Bloomington Parks and Recreation. "So this event provides a friendly environmental way to recycle them." Participants in the competition build their own launching devices prior to the event. According to the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department's Fall Program Guide, all devices are required to have at least two separate components and weigh less than 100 lbs. They must be mechanical only, meaning no fuel, electricity, compressed air, explosives or other chemical components or fluids are allowed. \n"We've seen everything from very elaborate catapults and trebuchets to very simple devices," Barrick said.\nEric Scott, an electronics technician master with IU's physics department, said medieval siege engines are a good place to start to look for ideas. He also suggested using stored energy devices such as a spring in catapults or trebuchets, which he described as "the Cadillac of catapults." \n"Imagination is your only limit," Scott said.\nParticipants should also consider the weight of their pumpkins in their design, according to the Program Guide. Each team or individual is required to supply at least four pumpkins for the event, all weighing over 5 lbs. Two pumpkins will be judged for accuracy and two will be judged for distance. \nScott said the durability of the pumpkin depends on how fast the device launches it. He added participants should optimize the amount of energy in their throwing device and match that to the distance they want to throw. \n"Pumpkins are fragile. If you hit them really hard, they will break," Scott said. "Pumpkins survive much better in a sling."\nPre-registration is required to participate in the launching competition, which boasts trophies for the winners. Winners are determined by totaling the points from all four launches. As of Thursday, at least five launchers had already been built, Barrick said. \nFor the first time, the Parks and Recreation Department has also put together a device allowing the several hundred expected spectators to help launch pumpkins. General admission to the event is $1, with an extra charge for pumpkin launching. \nSpectators can also pay $1 to participate in the dessert taste-off, where they can sample pumpkin desserts from local bakeries and vote for their favorites. A free pumpkin seed spitting contest is also part of the day's activities.\nIf pumpkin launching isn't your thing, there are several other opportunities to get in the Halloween spirit this weekend.\nThe IU organ department is holding Pipes Spooktacular at 9 p.m. tonight at St. Thomas Lutheran Church. Students and faculty will perform scary organ music live and in costume. The event is free, and door prizes will be handed out. The audience is also encouraged to come in costume.\nFor more traditional chills and thrills, area residents can check out The Haunted Train at Baker's Junction or the Harrodsburg Haunted House. \nThe Harrodsburg Haunted House, 9212 S. Old State Rd. 37, is just south of Bloomington and is cited as "the ultimate mind game" by the Haunted Indiana Web site. Admission is $7 for the house, Shadow Maze, and Labyrinth of the Undead. Children 12 and under are $4. It is open from 7-11 p.m. tonight, with all proceeds benefiting the Indian-Creek Volunteer Fire Department. \nAccording to Haunted Indiana, the house is built on an area once thought to be sacred Indian ground. Other Indians were warned to avoid the area because only bad medicine would result. The tale reveals that the most recent building on the land was a funeral parlor operated by Maximillion Gore, who removed bodies from caskets and kept them alive for his entertainment. \nThe Haunted Train is located at the old Ellettsville train station. Now in its 10th year of operation, the train station has been set up as a wonderlab for kids, while outside there are two mazes and four haunted train cars to tour. Cheryl Baker, who operates the attraction with her husband John, said an old railroader once told them three of the cars used to be used to haul Civil War troops. \n"Sometimes strange things happen out there and we have no explanation for them," Baker said. "I haven't been back there lately because it scares me too bad." \nAdmission is $5, and it is open from 7 to 10 p.m. tonight.\n -- Contact staff writer Hannah Schroder at hschrode@indiana.edu.