Paintball Paradise is turning up the volume this Saturday as the Pumpkin Music Festival returns for its fourth edition, offering a mix of live music, family activities, and fall traditions.
Organizer George Lewko said the event was created to give young musicians a place to perform when there were few venues available in the area.
“When I grew up, there used to be a band in Meath Park, Weirdale, and Paddockwood every weekend, and all that disappeared,” Lewko said. “We had some staff in bands who were really great musicians, and they had nowhere to play. So we created the Pumpkin Music Festival and gave them a stage.”
The first festival was held in 2017, followed by a second in 2019. After a break during the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers brought the event back in 2024.
“This will be the fourth one,” Lewko said. “It wasn’t continuous, but now we’ve got it going again.”
This year’s festival will run for one day instead of two, with six acts scheduled to perform. Lewko said the lineup includes a mix of genres, leaning a little more toward country this year but with something for everyone.
Anybody could come out and have a quite enjoyable experience,” he said.
Lewko said moving the festival to September has been a welcome change.
The first year, the bands were pretty cold by the end,” he said with a laugh. “September is kind of where we’re aiming for, where the weather is still nice.”
Paintball Paradise has made steady improvements to its facilities over the years, including heated flush toilets, a commercial kitchen, and a covered stage area. Last year’s addition of a beer garden was a hit, and sound engineer Brad Jaeger is back to run the audio for the performers.
“Everybody last year said they never sounded better than what he did,” Lewko said. “He’s a 30-year veteran of doing shows for huge acts and little acts.
Festival-goers will have plenty to do between sets. Activities include a three-and-a-half-acre corn maze, Jack and the Cornstalk fairy-tale trail for preschoolers, pumpkin picking, tractor rides, photo spots, games like tic-tac-toe and pumpkin checkers, and even paintball-themed shooting games.
The music festival is loud enough that if you’re in the corn maze, you can still hear it,” Lewko said.
He expects attendance to depend on the weather but hopes for around 500 visitors if conditions are good.
Lewko said the festival is designed to be family-friendly and, just as importantly, to support local musicians.
He expects attendance to depend on the weather but hopes for around 500 visitors if conditions are good.
Lewko said the festival is designed to be family-friendly and, just as importantly, to support local musicians.
“Festivals like this are important where these folks can get out,” he said. “We have such fantastic musicians from Prince Albert and the area. If you haven’t heard them, you’ve got to come out and hear them.”
Tickets are available online or at the gate. The Pumpkin Music Festival runs Saturday, Sept. 20, from 2 to 9 p.m. at Paintball Paradise, located five miles southwest of Prince Albert.
