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Giant pumpkins and anarchists
Oct. 5th, 2008 02:34 pmI drove out to Smoky Lake for the Great White North Pumpkin festival yesterday. I had no idea the festival would be as huge as it was. I thought there would be a few hundred people there, not 5,000. It turns out that people come from all over Alberta and sometimes BC or Saskatchewan to compete in this event. I got to the arena a little late, and walked in when they were judging giant squash. I was surprised to find myself sharing the front of the stage with reporters from both the Edmonton Journal and the Edmonton Sun. The arena was packed with about 5,000 people and there was another room packed with people who were watching the event on a tv.
The giant pumpkins were impressive. There were over 40 people competing from all over Alberta, and 30 pumpkin entries. The pumpkins were carried onstage by members of the Smoky Lake high school graduating class, who were wearing orange jumpsuits labelled "Smoky Lake Pumpkin Carrier". Each pumpkin was so big that it needed multiple boys to carry it, and they accomplished this by using a tarp, which they put under each pumpkin. Eventually the pumpkins got up to 600 pounds, and they were lifted onstage using a forklift. The boys then used the tarp to carry the pumpkin five steps over to the scale.
This was the 20th year that the pumpkin festival has been held in Smoky Lake and the first year they've ever had a tie for biggest pumpkin grown! Two friends, one from Taber and one from Vermilion, each grew a monster pumpkin which weighed 770.5 pounds. The crowd went wild as we took their pictures with the giant pumpkins. (Apparently, the two monster fruit had been raised from related seeds. The seeds are prized and horded for their rare genetic material.)
You can't eat the big pumpkins, but they are auctioned off to raise money for charity, and people use them as decorations in their Halloween displays.
After the show, I grabbed a good lunch which included homemade borscht, a bun, and pumpkin pie. Yum.
The whole town goes pumpkin crazy during the festival. People decorate their homes and businesses, everyone wears orange and you can buy pumpkin t-shirts, sweatshirts etc. There was a shuttle bus taking people around to the different sites, a midway, hayrides, a marketplace and a petting zoo for kids. It was absolutely insane. I'm going back later this week to talk to the organizers, and I'll post my pics to flickr and facebook later this week.
****
After attending the Giant pumpkin festival, I drove back to Edmonton. On the way back, I happened to pass the hall where the Anarchist bookfair was being held. I had intended to catch up with my friend Pete, who came into town from Saskatoon to sell his progressive books at the bookfair. I entered the bookfair, ran into a number of people I know, and then sat behind the booth and talked with Pete for about two hours, while enjoying a nice vegan chili provided by the bookfair. I think I experienced culture shock by going from the pumpkins to the anarchists so quickly, but it was a nice day. I could have gone out in the evening, but I was exhausted, so I got home by 8 and was in my pyjamas with a book by 9:00. Still, a fantastic day.
The giant pumpkins were impressive. There were over 40 people competing from all over Alberta, and 30 pumpkin entries. The pumpkins were carried onstage by members of the Smoky Lake high school graduating class, who were wearing orange jumpsuits labelled "Smoky Lake Pumpkin Carrier". Each pumpkin was so big that it needed multiple boys to carry it, and they accomplished this by using a tarp, which they put under each pumpkin. Eventually the pumpkins got up to 600 pounds, and they were lifted onstage using a forklift. The boys then used the tarp to carry the pumpkin five steps over to the scale.
This was the 20th year that the pumpkin festival has been held in Smoky Lake and the first year they've ever had a tie for biggest pumpkin grown! Two friends, one from Taber and one from Vermilion, each grew a monster pumpkin which weighed 770.5 pounds. The crowd went wild as we took their pictures with the giant pumpkins. (Apparently, the two monster fruit had been raised from related seeds. The seeds are prized and horded for their rare genetic material.)
You can't eat the big pumpkins, but they are auctioned off to raise money for charity, and people use them as decorations in their Halloween displays.
After the show, I grabbed a good lunch which included homemade borscht, a bun, and pumpkin pie. Yum.
The whole town goes pumpkin crazy during the festival. People decorate their homes and businesses, everyone wears orange and you can buy pumpkin t-shirts, sweatshirts etc. There was a shuttle bus taking people around to the different sites, a midway, hayrides, a marketplace and a petting zoo for kids. It was absolutely insane. I'm going back later this week to talk to the organizers, and I'll post my pics to flickr and facebook later this week.
****
After attending the Giant pumpkin festival, I drove back to Edmonton. On the way back, I happened to pass the hall where the Anarchist bookfair was being held. I had intended to catch up with my friend Pete, who came into town from Saskatoon to sell his progressive books at the bookfair. I entered the bookfair, ran into a number of people I know, and then sat behind the booth and talked with Pete for about two hours, while enjoying a nice vegan chili provided by the bookfair. I think I experienced culture shock by going from the pumpkins to the anarchists so quickly, but it was a nice day. I could have gone out in the evening, but I was exhausted, so I got home by 8 and was in my pyjamas with a book by 9:00. Still, a fantastic day.
