BOYKINS—Here’s a riddle: What’s big, orange and will be the subject of much jubilation this weekend in Boykins?

If you said a pumpkin, you’d be correct.

The inaugural Pumpkin Fest kicks off at 10 a.m. Saturday downtown.

Eric Coard, chairman of the Pumpkin Fest Committee, said the event will feature 25 to 30 vendors, cake walks, a scavenger hunt, a talent show, a petting zoo, hayrides and pumpkin-themed games, like guessing a pumpkin’s weight, guessing the number of pumpkin seeds and a paper pumpkin decorating contest.

Coard said the event is a way to attract visitors to downtown Boykins, which has seen a renaissance.

“We’ve begun to try to ride that wave,” Coard said. “This started out as a small day of fun but has blossomed into a pretty nice little festival.”

Mayor Spier Edwards said the town is excited about Saturday.

“I think it’s a good thing for our town,” Edwards said. “I hope the weather holds out. We’re looking forward to people coming to our town.”

The long-range forecast is promising. According to weather.com, the forecast for Saturday is partly cloudy and a high of 64 degrees.

The talent contest, which currently has eight participants, begins at 4 p.m. Coard said contestants can still sign up by visiting the town’s website, www.boykinsvirginia.com.

The scavenger hunt begins at 11 a.m. Visitors will be asked to hunt for items at individual vendor locations. The participants will then photograph the objects as part of the scavenger hunt.

A pumpkin toss will take place at 1 p.m., and the festival will culminate in the showing of an outdoor movie at 7 p.m.

Many of Boykins’ downtown shops will be open during the festival, said merchant Mike McGuire.

“Hopefully with Pumpkin Fest, we’ll get a lot of people downtown to see what’s going on,” McGuire said. “It has worked for other towns; why not us?”