It's the Great Pumpkin! And the Great Hubbard Squash!

This past Saturday morning we got together with friends of ours to go to The Southern New England Giant Pumpkin Championship at Frerichs Farms in Warren, RI.

I've never been before but our friends went last year. It's very much a country fair, only on a smaller and single-themed scale. There were a few fun things for the kids to do, including a pony ride, and there was food. But most importantly, there was the 1,000 lb pumpkin drop.

That was at noon, so we made sure to arrive in time to watch this most exciting part of the event.

A crane was set up in a fenced off area and a big pumpkin was lifted way, way up high.

And then, the pumpkin was released,

And it fell down, down, down...

Until...

It smashed

And then the crowd cheered. Hooray! We've dropped a vegetable from a great height and it smashed! Yay!

Almost immediately, people rushed to examine the remains. Small children carried around chunks of pumpkin innards as souvenirs.

Later on, they held the weigh-off. First, they weighed the giant hubbard squashes. There weren't as many of those - it's a newer category, and there aren't as many brave hubbard squash ~~obsessives~~ growers out there. Yet. After the hubbards, they started in on the pumpkins.

After each vegetable was weighed, it was transported out of the competition ring and set off to the side, where children and their parents could pose for pictures with them.

Like this. (It was a very bright, hot, sunny day. Can't you tell?)

And where was Julia? See that orange, pumpkin-shaped cage way in the back, there? That's the pumpkin ride. When I heard there was a pumpkin ride, I thought kids would, you know, ride on the pumpkins. Um, no. It's a hayride in a big pumpkin frame, drawn by a tractor. Bill and Julia bravely took the ride.