JUPITER — Princesses, pirates, ghosts and goblins flooded Harbourside Place on Saturday for the eighth annual Pumpkin Fest, where children and adults got a chance to get into the Halloween spirit while raising money for a good cause.
The community event raises around $70,000 every fall for the Chasin A Dream Foundation, a Jupiter-based nonprofit that assists children with life-threatening illnesses, and their families.
Ed Burnette and his wife Michelle Thivierge dressed their son Roman, 6, as Popeye, with a white sailor hat with blue stripes and strolled him through the festival in a rolling boat made of foam boards.
The Burnettes first connected with the nonprofit five years ago, when Roman was diagnosed with Down syndrome and was chosen to be a Chasin A Dream Warrior. The family has attended the Pumpkin Fest every since Roman left the hospital three years ago — Roman Burnette was featured in the Palm Beach Post’s Season to Share fundraising effort in 2022 — and says it has become a tradition they look forward to every year.