What would we do without the heroes in the Keene Police Department? Thank goodness they are here to keep us safe from the criminal Cub Scouts selling us cotton candy and the volunteers at the Hundred Nights shelter selling us baked goods! Here’s the news story from the Sentinel. I heard there was video taken, but I haven’t seen it pop up yet.
Many businesses and nonprofit organizations name Pumpkin Festival as their most profitable selling day or fundraiser.
But a few fundraisers were cut short by police and festival organizers.
Police shut down three vendors for operating without permits this year.
One of them was the Cub Scout Pack 297 cotton candy booth. Den leader Roberta Mastrogiovanni said being shut down was unfair.
“It was very rude to my scouts and people from out of town were witnessing what was going on,” Mastrogiovanni said.
According to Mastrogiovanni, who owns the Corner News, the scouts were selling on her private property next to her store. Permits are required only on city-owned land.
Suzanne L. Woodward, executive director of festival organization Center Stage, said the selling was happening on city-owned property, and that is why it was shut down.
Mastrogiovanni said the scouts had run their booth for the past four years in the same location, and there had never been a problem before.
The scouts moved their operation inside Mastrogiovanni’s store, and continued to sell cotton candy there. They were back outside later in the night.
Another vendor that was shut down was selling on behalf of the Hundred Nights Shelter. The booth was selling baked goods and drinks, according to Donald R. Primrose, who started the shelter last winter.
Members of Free Keene, a local activist group, were staffing the booth, Primrose said.
Primrose was angry at being shut down, and moved the booth from in front of the Apothecary to next to the Hundred Nights facility on Lamson Street, giving away the remaining items for free.
