Pumpkins aren't naturally pink, but come Saturday, Oct. 15, about 300 pumpkins will be.
At UF&Shands' first Pink Pumpkin Painting Party, people can paint pumpkins pink to help raise breast cancer awareness.
Painting will take place on the Cancer Genetics Research Complex lawn on the corner of Gale Lemerand Drive and Archer Road. The event is free for attendees. The cancer center's communication and marketing fund is paying for the $2,000 event, according to Lindy Brounley, the communications director for the UF Shands cancer center.
Brounley said she wants the message behind the pink pumpkins to touch everyone when attendees display the pink pumpkins on their doorsteps. Brounley also said the pumpkin party would allow Gainesville residents to interact with the hospital's staff in a different kind of setting.
"We don't often get to see them in a setting outside of the hospital, so this would give us the opportunity to interact with them doing something fun," she said.
Typically, the pink flamingo is the symbol for breast cancer awareness, but the team at the cancer center thought it was a little outdated.
Instead, they opted for pumpkin painting - something they felt was fun and family-oriented but would still help raise awareness for their cause.
"We're trying to achieve an increased awareness of breast cancer ... so that people can live," she said.
