MILFORD – Nothing says New England like the tran­scendent symphony of burn­ing firewood, festival food and technicolor leaves.

Such was the scene Satur­day at the 27th annual Mil­ford Pumpkin Festival. The small town’s biggest event, the festival draws thou­sands to its sights, smells and sounds, transforming the area surrounding the Oval into a full-blown autumn extravaganza.

Near the gazebo, the crowd explored dozens of vendors selling every­thing from cotton candy to meat kabobs to pumpkin-themed ornaments. Mean­while, at one of the two music stages, the Double­neck Guitar Duo per­formed a set of laid-back blues as children rode the carousel and Ferris wheel.

Kye Hall, of Milford, and Grady Sullivan, of New Boston, enjoyed some maple cotton candy on a park bench.

Hall said she comes to the event every year, but it was Sullivan’s first time. They agreed their favorite attractions were the clothing vendors in­side Town Hall.

Lynn Desmarais, of Mil­ford, owner of the vendor Gorgeous Creations, said she has been working the event for years.

"It’s the happening thing in Milford," Desma­rais said.

A staple of the Pump­kin Festival is the Great Pumpkin Contest, for which contestants throughout the state submit their entries to vie for the title of biggest pumpkin. This year’s win­ner was Steve Geddes, of Boscawen, whose pump­kin weighed in at 2,066 pounds.