Maud Village Trust: Pumpkin Display at Maud Community Gardens
Event at a glance:
Location: Aberdeenshire
Date: 21 October 2025
Number of Staff & Volunteers: 6
Number of Attendees: 100
First-time participant? Yes
Bursary support received: Yes
What they said:
It was the first time of being invited to attend but we jumped at the chance as community engagement is what MVT is all about. We were delighted to receive a bursary too which helped greatly as we are a charity with limited resources.
The fact that 45 registered (individuals, families & community groups) ahead of the event and over 100 people came out in the rain to visit the display was a real bonus and made all the organisation well worth the effort. So much effort and creativity had gone into the pumpkins and no two were the same. Just brilliant!
So many people said how enjoyable the event was and that the buzz of the event showed how much community spirit there was in our small rural villages. An employee of Aberdeenshire Council Community Mental Health Team said he was heartened to see so many generations of family coming out together to celebrate the event. A few said it was great that it was held during the school holidays as it gave the children something different to take part in.
Outcomes and Community Feedback:
Nothing but positive feedback and locals would love it to be an annual event.
Challenges:
Time and Money. My role is only possible with funding and without grants from Communities Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund and other sources, it isn’t sustainable. Our December 2024 bid in round 4 was unsuccessful and it’s only with reducing my weekly hours that MVT have managed to sustain the post of Community Mental Health Project Officer. Events like this take a huge amount of man hours to plan and execute.