Thousands Turn Out For Halloween Fun At Pumpkin Fest [VIDEO]

ST. CLOUD -- Thousands of kids and their parents came out for the fifth annual Pumpkin Fest was held at Lake George tonight.

Pumpkin Fest featured many activities including a haunted house, hay rides and several booths where the kids could collect candy.

Lynn Wegner of St. Cloud Parks and Recreation says the event is put on to provide Halloween fun for the whole family in a safe environment.

"We just wanted to provide another opportunity for kids to go trick-or-treating," Wegner says.

"Putting it all in one location and keeping all the activities family-friendly and safe gives kids another chance to wear their costumes and have a good time."

Wegner says that the event has been such a success that it moved from the Heritage Center to Lake George five years ago in order to accommodate the big turnouts.

"Over the years, it's been right around that 5,000 mark for people...[and] when the weather cooperates with us, we have a great turnout like this," Wegner says.

Wegner says the event takes a over two months to prepare for, but seeing the joy it brings to the kids who come out makes it all worthwhile.

"Once we get everything set up and see all the kids out here with their costumes on, that's the greatest feeling - that we provided this for them," Wegner says.