Pumpkins in the Park

 

We thought it might be fun to walk over to Bird Park for their annual Pumpkins in the Park festivities the other night. It was crisp, cold and clear and the leaves crunched under our feet as we made our way along the busy sidewalk.

Local pumpkin carvers of all ages had gathered together to display their pumpkin art as luminaria along the park's many trails. There were probably over 100 pumpkins and the park was crowded with high-spirited families pulling kids in wagons and sipping hot cocoa and cider to fend off the cold.

This is a fierce competition with categories such as scariest, most unusual, most creative, funniest and most traditional. It was evident some people had taken this quite seriously and the results ranged from gory to exquisite.

The pumpkins were judged by guest pumpkin judges (not sure of their qualifications). Ribbons and prizes were awarded at the pumpkin podium. Our personal favorite was an intricately carved decorative leaf pattern that stole the show.

A storyteller was on hand telling scary ghost stories and there were games for the younger kids to play.

Though they did have a specific “Senior” category, we didn't enter. It seems to us that a “Senior” might be able to compete adequately in the other categories without a category specific to age. After all, we've been carving pumpkins much longer than the rest of the group. Costumes were encouraged, but we had left our sailor costumes on the boat, so we just went as old farts.

Jack-o-lanterns

 

Though we've been ranting about pumpkin mania, it didn't stop us from buying pumpkins. And, of course, once we had a pumpkin, it only seemed appropriate to carve a jack-o-lantern. It's just the right thing to do at this time of year … even if you're not kid.

Traditionally, “guisers”,the original costumed trick-or-treaters in Ireland, carried big, carved out turnips as lanterns to scare away the evil spirits on All Hallow's Eve. In America, where native pumpkins grow big and plentifully (and are probably more easily carved than turnips), a modified All Hallow's Eve (Hallowe'en) tradition was born. Being American traditionalists (as if), we opted to carve up a big pumpkin instead of a turnip.

When the kids were little, we'd hollow out a pumpkin, cut out the customary triangular eyes and nose and then add a mouth with a few teeth. We'd stick a candle inside and call it done. One year, David installed a speaker inside the jack-o-lantern to give the trick-or-treaters a bit of a rush as they approached our door and he bellowed out a wicked Dracula-laugh into a microphone. That was the extent of our ingenuity. Nowadays, there are pumpkin carving kits, how-to's on the internet and very elaborate designs for pumpkin heads including Jesus and Elvis faces. (Really?) With copious amounts of hot cider and rum to provide inspiration, Lin, David and I agreed upon an easy, but pleasing, face design and drew it on our pumpkin.

David cut out the top and then we scooped out the goo. Yuck!

These large carving pumpkins are not really suitable for pumpkin pie, but roasting the pumpkin seeds, however, is fun and the results are tasty (and much less work than making a pie). Just lay them in a single layer on a cookie sheet, salt them if you like and roast for about 30 minutes till they're brown.

Now we were ready for the artistry and the fun. Armed with knives and more hot cider with rum, we took turns carving. It's a wonder, we managed not to hurt ourselves.

We were heartily pleased with our results, congratulated each other, set Jack on the front steps to admire and toasted him with hot cider and rum.

Did you carve a jack-o-lantern yet this year? Pumpkin or turnip, it's time to get moving. Don't forget the hot cider and rum.

Pumpkin Mania

 

Pumpkins ... those huge, round, orange squash that come into season here at this time of year. They're everywhere at the moment … great mountains of them.

There's pumpkin pie, of course, but also pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin spice coffee and chai. Then there's pumpkin cheesecake, Pumkin Ale, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin soup and even pumpkin spice room spray and scented candles.

Enough already! Why is this oversized orange fruit a symbol of Hallowe'en anyway. They didn't even have pumpkins in Europe when All Hallows Eve was first celebrated. They hollowed out turnips or mangelwurzels (big beets) to use as lanterns and carved goblin faces on them to ward off evil spirits. Though I have to admit, I'd prefer pumpkin ale to turnip ale or mangelwerzel pie.

The Great Pumpkin and good old Charlie Brown was fun for the kids in the day. The farcical Simpsons' Grand Pumpkin has taken over now in the spirit of modern times. The world record for actual great pumpkins, however, is held by Ron Wallace of Rhode Island at the moment. His Atlantic Giant weighed in at just over a ton (911.3kg). Now that's a Great Pumpkin.

Pumpkins are one of the most popular crops in the US. According to Wiki, we grow 1.5 billion pounds of pumpkin every year with the Midwest leading the top producing states. Usually, we tend to be lazy and get a can of pumpkin for our holiday pies. All those pumpkins around and we buy canned. Go figure. We served pumpkin pie to our Aussie friends on the boat last Thanksgiving. They weren't impressed. It's an acquired taste, I guess.

I do like Hallowe'en and I do enjoy carving jack-o-lanterns, it's just that the pumpkin stuff seems to have gotten out of hand. That said, pumpkins are symbols of the harvest and they're certainly preferred to Christmas decorations. Oops...spoke too soon. Look at all those plastic Santas!