(EMAILWIRE.COM, September 29, 2009 ) South Burlington, VT—Sign*A*Rama of Vermont’s Paula Diaco will pilot an enormous floating gourd in the 2nd Annual Giant Pumpkin Regatta & Festival taking place on Lake Champlain in Burlington on Sunday, October 11, 2009.

The regatta and festival, sponsored by the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, Linking Learning to Life and the New England Credit Union, brings local business leaders, students and members of the community together to race enormous hollowed-out pumpkins while enjoying a festival featuring food vendors, activities, and entertainment. The event takes place on the Burlington Waterfront.

The Giant Pumpkin Regatta & Festival is a benefit for PILOT (Program to Inspire Leadership, Opportunity, and Thought), a youth leadership program for area high school students run by Linking Learning to Life and the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“I’m a little nervous about piloting a large squash in a race on the lake, but SignARama is happy to support any of the school programs developed by Linking Learning to Life and our regional Chamber of Commerce,” says Diaco. “And, I thought paddling about in a pumpkin would be a hoot.”

In fact, last year’s Giant Pumpkin Race & Regatta attracted the attention of MSNBC news, who broadcast pictures of the event’s wildly decorated pumpkins being propelled through the water like overweight kayaks. The race also found its way into a spoof on Saturday Night Live, and Sports Illustrated added the regatta to its list of “Most Ridiculous Competitions.”

Companies that sponsor the event and agree to pilot a pumpkin receive recognition from the race announcer, are invited to decorate their pumpkin entry with colorful images, banners and flags, as well as hang a company banner on the beach at the festival site.

SignARama has already started to design the signs and banners that they plan to mount to the pumpkin. “As a graphic arts firm, we would be remiss not thinking about how we want the pumpkin to look, or what messages we want to have on it,” Paula Diaco says. “And really, showing up with some creative ideas makes the fun and memorable for everyone.”

Additional information about the event is available on the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce’s web site at http://www.vermont.org/pumpkin/.

Contact Information:
Sign*A*Rama
Paula Diaco
Tel: 802-863-6233
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