The city of Princeton is hosting a new fall event for the first time ever featuring a movie and carved pumpkins floating on the water.

The pumpkin-centric event will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, at the Princeton Municipal Center, located at 2000 E. Princeton Drive.

At the event, local Boy Scouts of America chapter, Troop 229, along with some help from TruLawn will assist attendees with s’more making, said Community Events Manager Stephanie O’Brien. The Lois Nelson Public Library will also pitch in by providing the movie “Encanto,” which will be shown during the event.

All of the planned programming for the event will take place in the park area behind the Municipal Center with a select number of Jack-o’-Lanterns floating on the pond while the movie is shown.

To be eligible for floating on the pond, a pumpkin must weigh between five and eight pounds after being gutted and carved, said O’Brien. Carved pumpkins should also have a “lid” on them.

Any pumpkins that weigh more than eight pounds or are too big won’t be placed on the water but will be used as decorations. Those with any added flourishes will not be allowed to float either.

“Jack-o’-lanterns with artificial decorations, such as paint, glitter, marker, food dye, paper or plastic, cannot be accepted for the float but will be used for decorations,” O’Brien said. “A light and floating device are provided for your jack-o’-lantern at the event.”

Drop-off for pumpkins will begin at 4:30 p.m. Saturday. The window concludes at 6:30 p.m. and all pumpkins that are dropped off will be selected to float on a first-come, first-served basis.

Because space is limited, only the first 100 pumpkins dropped off will be placed on the pond. Pumpkins are scheduled to begin floating at 7:15 p.m., said O’Brien. 

The Floating Jack-o’-Lantern event is part of the city’s strategy to offer more activities for residents.

“We are trying to add more events for the community,” O’Brien said. 

The next scheduled city event after the Floating Jack-o’-Lanterns is Fallfest, which takes place Oct. 22.

Additionally, individuals who submit a pumpkin should not expect to get it back. O’Brien said the jack-o’-lanterns will be donated to Cathy’s Critters, a Princeton-based nonprofit.  For more information about the event, visit princetontx.gov/435/Floating-Jack-o-lanterns.