What Feast Fits Your Fancy? If you have a hankering for a festival, there is plenty to choose from in Central Ohio. Celebrating its German heritage, you can go to Bucyrus for the Bratwurst Festival or go to the largest three-day Irish festival on the planet in Dublin. If those don't strike your fancy, there is the Popcorn Festival in Marion, the Coffee Festival in Columbus, the Tomato Festival in Reynoldsburg, and Zuchinifest in Obetz. Actually, this is just a starter list. There are so many things to celebrate in Ohio. Who knew?
. Well, Charlie Brown and Linus Van Pelt would be delighted to know there is also the Circleville Pumpkin Show. It's just a little south of Columbus. So, if you like all things orange or have a yearning for a little (or a lot) of pumpkin spice in your life, this is the place to go during four days in October.
The Three SistersThe Pumpkin Show has been going on for 116 years, but Circleville has been around longer than that. And, pumpkins have been around even longer. Along with other forms of squash, pumpkins were an important part of the Native American diet. Beans, maize, and pumpkins were grown along riverbanks in a method known as the Three Sisters. The "sisters" worked to sustain each other, as all sisters should. Beans and corn were usually planted in small mounds about 12 inches tall. The beans climbed up the corn stalks as they grew. In the process, the beans received the needed sunlight, provided nitrogen to the soil, and helped support the corn on windy days. Pumpkins, planted along the ground between the mounds, had broad leaves that sheltered the corn's shallow roots and kept the ground shaded and moist. In addition, those leaves stopped pesky weeds from taking over the garden. And, just so you know, if you wanted extra fertilizer for your crops grown in poor soil, you could add a fish OR AN EEL (Yuck! Gross!) to each mound!
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A Little Bit of Circleville History A frontier explorer, Christopher Gist, is recognized as the first European explorer in the Circleville area. When he stayed a few days at the settlement called Maguck in 1751, he recorded that about ten families lived there. In 1810, when Circleville was established just to the north of Maguck, the founding fathers hoped that their location in and around Hopewell mounds in the area would help to preserve and maintain the mounds. The original city plan for CirclevilleHomes like this are all over Ohio.was a round design, made to model the historic mounds. Alas! The mounds didn't remain and neither did the circular grid for "Roundtown". Circleville was no longer a circle by the 1860s.
Like so many old towns across Ohio, Circleville has a treasure trove of old homes build in the late 1800s. Even if there were no pumpkins and no festival, it's worth the visit to take in the views. Some homes need a lot of love, tender care, and repair. Other homes across the state and in Circleville have been turned into funeral parlors, legal offices, bed and breakfasts, or treasured dwellings that I would adore calling home.
The Pumpkin Show When the Pumpkin Show comes to town, the heart of Circleville is filled with carnival rides, food trucks and booths, as well games to test your skills and empty your pockets. Each of the four days of the show attracts approximately 100,00 visitors to the town of almost 14,000 people. There are all the usual festivity treats that you would expect like elephant ears, corn dogs, cotton candy, ice cream, pies, fries, and assorted calories. But, in Circleville, it should come as no surprise that a lot of things are made from pumpkin. Of course, that's going to include pumpkin spice lattes, but you'll also find pumpkin donuts, pumpkin chili, pumpkin burgers, pumpkin popcorn, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin waffles, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin butter, pumpkin fudge, pumpkin taffy, pumpkin yogurt, pumpkin bread, pumpkin spread, pumpkin dog treats, and, yes, even pumpkin pie.
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The Circleville Pumpkin Show has several of the things that you would expect at any festival. There are floats, multiple bands, and several parades over the four days. Of course, there is a Miss Pumpkin Queen and her court as well as a Little Miss Pumpkin Queen with her attendants. And, could the festivities be complete without a pie eating contest? Of course, it is pumpkin pie. Now, for the 100th Anniversary of the festival, in 2006, the World's Largest Pumpkin Pie was created. In case you want the recipe, thanks to the Pumpkin Show website, I'm here to make your day.
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Ingredients for a World Record Pie: Do you know the difference between a pumpkin, squash, or gourd? I don't. ........14 feet in diameter pie pan ........360 pounds of sugar
........795 pounds of pumpkin ........60 pounds of powdered milk ........60 dozen eggs ........75 gallons of water ........400 pounds of flour ........15 people to mix the ingredients ........10 hours to bake
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The Great Pumpkin Weigh-In Now, you may not expect it, but the Pumpkin Show also includes country line dancing, craft demonstrations, pumpkin carving, a fashion show, and a 5K run. But, what I truly never imagined was The Great Pumpkin Weigh-In. I wanted to get to the show early on the first day. I thought I might miss the crowds that way. (No such luck.) Still, I wanted to see the pumpkin weigh-in, and I was not disappointed.
The largest pumpkin I've ever seen was probably big enough for me to put my arms around. What takes place in Pickaway County puts that to shame. Records from the event website indicate that the show has been weighing pumpkins since 1996 when Bob Liggett won with a vegetable (actually, technically, a fruit) weighing 648 pounds! (Almost enough for that record-setting pie recipe.) Bob was just getting started. His name is legendary in the pumpkin patches around Circleville. He has won the competition 14, 15, or 16 times (depending on your source of news) with no sign of stopping.
Is there a secret to that kind of remarkable success? Since you asked, I did my research. It appears that Dr. Liggett's son, Dave, works at the Columbus Zoo. And, if you've ever farmed, you know that there are certain products produced by animals that help fertilize the soil. My dad always went to the county fairgrounds for horse manure. Dr. Liggett's son goes to the Columbus Zoo for poo. Yep, that's right. He gets number one prize winning pumpkins by using number two. I know from first-hand experience on African safaris that elephant poo isn't very well digested. Someone walked behind the elephants and counted. They toss out little bundles 17 times a day. It's basically clumps of dirty grass and leaves. I can't say that I've ever examined what rhinos leave behind as souvenirs, but that is the zoo poo of choice on at least one pumpkin patch in Circleville.
The emcee of the weigh-in gave the audience a little pumpkin background information. The seeds for those giant pumpkins start about the size of a thumb nail. Depending on how well it is pollinated, a giant pumpkin can have between 100 to 1,000 seeds. The seeds are planted in April or May, and then those little suckers are nurtured, pampered, and watched over for the next six months. The emcee said that the farmers needed at least three hours a day to care for their pumpkins. For some farmers, it's an all day project.
So many shapes, sizes, colors, textures, and tastes!
Now, I couldn't fathom why on earth it would take so much work. So, I had to find out why. Each pumpkin was hauled to the weigh-in on a trailer. Twenty-five pumpkins were entered in the contest this year. By the time I arrived, only the last seven monster pumpkins were lined up on Main Street for their turn in the spotlight. I moseyed up to the last truck in line and started asking questions. Low and behold, the truck - and the pumpkin on the trailer behind it - belonged to the Liggett clan. Forget about the Pumpkin Queen, I was talking to pumpkin royalty! So, first of all, I asked what could possibly take so long to care for the plant. Well, as it turns out, you have to be careful about weeds, insects, and bacteria. And, they need lots of water. A giant pumpkin needs about 50 gallons of water per day per plant. (How many pumpkins do you want in your garden?) Those very thirsty plants are also delicate. A perfectly healthy plant can completely die overnight if the conditions are not right. Some farmers, on the day when they lift their entry from the garden to the trailer, find out at that moment that their pumpkin died. How do you know when your pumpkin is dead? The bottom of the pumpkin falls off and it smells like an outhouse. (If you don't know that smell, you are so very lucky.)
The driver of the Liggett truck told me that there are three measurements that are taken to help get an estimate of the weight. This year, the Liggetts were hoping to top 2,000 pounds! That's a whole lot of pie, except this pumpkin wouldn't be eaten. Plans were to decorate it after the show. Finally, I had to ask if they had a favorite pumpkin recipe. I was not talking to a chef, so there will be no more recipes other than the one for the giant pie.
One of the last three pumpkins weighed was expected to be this year's winning entry. One by one, each trailer pulled up to the intersection of Main Street and Court Street. Straps were wrapped around the pumpkin so that a small crane could move it to the scales. There was a countdown, and then the weight was revealed. Third place weighed in at a hefty 1,707 pounds. Second place upped that to 1,963.5 pounds. And then, the final entry showed up. Since I interviewed a member of the Liggett family, I was sold out and so very hopeful. I wanted the winner and the best saved for last. When the crane work was completed and the weighing was over, Matilda tipped the scale at a whopping 2,388.5 pounds! Yes, we had a winner and a new record for the state of Ohio. Who knew anyone kept these kinds of records? Every year the United States produces 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkin. It appears that a great chunk of that can be found in Central Ohio. And, if you just really have to know, the world record pumpkin was grown in Italy in 2021, weighing in at 2,702 pounds.
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(Images in a circle) The weighing process with the crane and a very large scale. A view of downtown Circleville set to feed 400,000 guests. Matilda, waiting for the weigh-in. The winning Liggett clan with a very large pumpkin and trophy.
space Good Grief, Charlie Brown! Charlie Brown's best friend, Linus Van Pelt, firmly believed in the Great Pumpkin who mysteriously arose from the pumpkin patch on Halloween to give bags of toys to children who believed. Where did the Great Pumpkin come from? Mexico? That's where the world's oldest pumpkin seeds (dating back to somewhere between 7000 - 5550 BC) were discovered. Sadly, nobody has answers about the Great Pumpkin. He's never been spotted. But, if you want to see a truly great pumpkin, head to Circleville, Ohio, and ask for Matilda.
Well, Charlie Brown and Linus Van Pelt would be delighted to know there is also the Circleville Pumpkin Show. It's just a little south of Columbus. So, if you like all things orange or have a yearning for a little (or a lot) of pumpkin spice in your life, this is the place to go during four days in October. 
