Amy in the Garden

It is Pumpkinfest in Damariscotta, Maine, and how happy I am to be a part of it!

The Weigh-Off was last weekend — 65 giant Atlantic Pumpkins were brought to the local garden center and weighed. The 1st place prize went to a pumpkin weighing 1,266 pounds, and 2nd place went to the slimmer 1,264 pound pumpkin — both produced by the same grower.

The pumpkins are sponsored by local businesses, and after the Weigh-Off they are brought into town and placed on palettes by trucks and forklifts. It is Damariscotta’s version of the inflating of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons, and it is a wonderful, traffic-tying-up event.

It takes two days for local artists to carve and paint these pumpkins. The giant pumpkins have their insides gutted and the seeds removed before they are turned over for decorating. Why? Because the growers do not want their seeds falling into the hands of a competitor. The total purse of prize money awarded is $10,000, and so the genetics and growing practices of these farmers are a highly guarded secret.

Husband and I walked the streets of our little town today, so delighted that we had chosen this charming place to call home. Here are photos of a few of the pumpkins, some in progress, and some completed. Humor, artistry, imagination, all on display here. I will include captions where appropriate.

Outside a jewelry store, this “Day of the Dead” theme is continued on the jewelry for sale inside.

Every side of this pumpkin shows hardware, and bits and pieces of household stuff.

Outside the bank, of course!

This is a monkey-in-progress, and one that had had the seeds removed to protect the genetic secrets of its giant-ness!

Outside King Eider’s Pub, this pumpkin was painted by Glen Chadbourne, resident of the neighboring village and illustrator of many of Stephen King’s books.

The Princess and the Pea, pumpkin-style

A goldfish, with fins-to-come.

Outside a facial salon.

Sponsored by a local plumbing company, of course.

The carving echoes the artwork of the restaurant’s logo: the Damariscotta River Grill.

Herons, sharing their sand bars with pumpkins, and with…

…the pumpkin stem that became a bald eagle.

Outside the Colby and Gale gas station, this artist had just started carving into the huge pumpkin. Intrigued by the roof, I peaked behind and found …

…the little theater, destined to be placed under that shingled roof.

Outside the ice cream store.

Pumpkins can wear masks, too.

This week, Hansel and Gretel discover a house made of sweet squashes and gourds, and….

…a witch!

Outside the Newcastle Public House, this pumpkin became a giant cheeseburger, with the pumpkin seeds transformed into sesame seeds. This one gets my vote for Best Carved Pumpkin Ever.

And of course, what is a pumpkin festival without a little humor? After a day of seeing huge, enormous, gigantic pumpkins, resting their great weight on stacks of wooden palettes, I loved seeing this:

WORDS FROM OTHERS

“…dark furrow lines grid the snow, punctuated by orange abacus beads of pumpkins…”

― John Geddes, author, “A Familiar Rain”