In this article I want to write about social traditions, and in particular – American pumpkin festivals. Of course, harvest holidays are celebrated in many countries. But pumpkin festivals are something special. Rarely any holiday can compare with them for entertainment. Except that the Spanish Tomatina, but it is generally something beyond.
Much closer to us, the inhabitants of the temperate zone, the autumn festival of pumpkin with bright warm colors, spectacular, cheerful and, of course, nourishing.
American cuisine is full of pumpkin recipes. Pumpkin pie is a traditional thanksgiving meal. A pumpkin puree-the basis for many dishes, especially for a variety of sweet pastries. Americans were the first to sell canned pumpkin puree. At the beginning of the XX-th century in many States created large canneries that buy hundreds of tons of pumpkin in the season on the nearest farms.
In this regard, the history of pumpkin festivals is interesting. It is believed that they first originated in Ohio in the small town of services in Circleville, where was located the processing plant pumpkin raw materials.
In autumn, near the factory, farmers lined up with trucks filled to the brim with pumpkins waiting to be processed. Bored farmers arranged competitions, who pumpkins more and more beautiful. These innocent entertainments were noticed by the mayor of the town George Haswell and suggested to expose the most beautiful and large pumpkins in the downtown.
“Exhibition of Pumpkins Circleville” has been held every year. Although after world war II canning company: closed the exhibition eventually grew into a Festival of pumpkins and is still held here annually.
Today, such events are held in every state, as well as in many States of Canada. Each place can buy a license for the celebration and wishing to become more every year.
Nowadays pumpkin fests are held from the end of September to the end of October, ending just before Halloween.
On the eve of the festival, farmers bring their huge pumpkins to the place of action for weighing – for the largest vegetables, a significant award is due, so they prepare for the competition very in advance. The difficult process of growing a giant pumpkin – from the price of seeds to special fertilizing and watering.
Here is a list of giant pumpkin Champions of recent years, presented at the American pumpkin festivals:
- In 2012, Ron Wallace of Rhode island grew a pumpkin weighing 2009 pounds (911.27 kg) – a world record at the time.
- In 2013, Tim Mathison from California overtook the previous record holder with a pumpkin in 2032 pounds (921.7 kg).
- In 2015, Ron Wallace again put a huge pumpkin already weighing 2230.5 pounds (1011.5 kg), setting an American (but not a world) record. For the first time the American pumpkin giant has overcome the mark of 1 ton!
What will this year’s harvest bring? Interested audience is waiting for new achievements in the difficult “pumpkin race”.
As the pumpkin festivals announce themselves as family-friendly, there are many entertaining activities for children: jumping over a pumpkin, throwing and riding pumpkins at range and speed, master classes on carving pumpkin masks and making all kinds of crafts out of them. The winners, of course, are awarded prizes and certificates from the American “Giant Pumpkin community”.
Each pumpkin festival has its own traditions and entertainment: talent shows, exhibitions of works of art and crafts made of pumpkin, attractions, animal shows, car shows, racing on tractors, shooting pumpkins from special guns – just can not be counted.
By the way, shooting pumpkins is quite suitable for the “little victorious war” of local importance. Pumpkin, leaving the ” barrel “of a special gun-catapult, flies at a speed of 1096 km per hour, and although the projectile quickly loses speed,” pumpkin ” shooting requires strict compliance with safety rules and is held in an open field, where the audience are in the distance.
There are also competing fans manually shoot pumpkins in old cars, which are exhibited in the field specifically for this purpose. The winners proudly wear the title of “pumpkin sniper” for a year – until the next competition.
Common to all festivals are exhibitions of pumpkin dishes, a variety of food courts, competitions of traditional pumpkin pies. In addition to the usual favorites of American cuisine-stuffed pumpkin and pumpkin pie-visitors are offered pumpkin chili, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin cookies, muffins and donuts, pumpkin cocktails, pumpkin ice cream, etc.
The peak of the festival is the collection of carved” scary ” masks of pumpkins and the construction of huge pyramids of glowing pumpkin lanterns. The greater the number of pumpkins will be collected at the festival-the more famous will be the event itself. After all, the States also compete with each other, whose festival is better, bigger and more colorful.
Records for collecting the largest number of pumpkins were installed at the festival in Boston (Massachusetts), where in 2006 were collected 30128 pumpkins, as well as in the town of Keene (new Hampshire) in 2013 – 30581 pumpkin! The town, which won the competition of festivals, declares itself the” Pumpkin capital of the world ” – until the next victory of any of the neighbors.
The most spectacular part of the festival comes in the evening of the last day, when the lights are lit inside the “terrible” pumpkin masks. Of burning pumpkins is being built the highest possible tower that is visible from any point on the territory of the festival.
Well, where does all this mass of pumpkins go after the holiday, all this hard-grown crop, put on entertainment? Really it is utilized? Not at all! Nothing is lost: immediately after the end of the festival, volunteers collect all the vegetables and deliver them to the nearest livestock farms as feed for pigs – for free, of course.
Pumpkin-a wonderful vegetable, worthy not only of the festival in his honor, but also to grow it on your site, used for cooking, animal feed and for decoration of their homes.
Leave a Reply