Finally: Visiting the Annual Circleville Pumpkin Show

The biggest pumpkin of them all this year: 1,312 pounds!

And these were the "small" pumpkins!

Rain didn't deter us from the Circleville Pumpkin Show this year, though perhaps it should have.

I've wanted to go to the annual pumpkin festival in this small town just south of Columbus for years, and we planned to in 2006. But it rained, and we chickened out. Then we moved to New York the next year and weren't around to even consider a visit.

Halloween or Christmas?

Edith, trying to do a backflip out of the carrier.

Until this year. The show was Wednesday through Saturday, but only the last day was really an option because of Paul's work schedule. Unfortunately the forecast called for rain, and unfortunately the forecast was right on the money. But it wasn't a hard rain, so Paul, his mom, Edith and I bundled up, brought umbrellas and took off.

Rainy day at the pumpkin show.

Such fine pumpkin fare!

The festival was surprisingly busy even as the rain got harder, so who knows how long the food lines would have been in bright, sunny weather! We stood in an empty tent eating our treats during the heaviest rains and really didn't get that wet. We all changed our socks when we got home and were as good as new.

I'll let the photos below explain what we devoured. I would've tried more had the weather been better -- toward the end, a warm, dry car sounded better than a pumpkin roll, pumpkin pancake or even pumpkin hot chocolate. I do regret not getting a slice of pumpkin pie, though why would I get something so boring when there was all of this to try?

Pumpkin squash blossoms, breaded and fried.
More sweet than savory, and maybe my favorite food there.

Pumpkin chili. Slight pumpkin-spice flavor.

Pumpkin burger. More like a sloppy joe.

Stacks of fried pumpkin waffles.

Billed a pumpkin waffle, it had a fried, thin, flaky crunch. Delicious.

Giant pumpkin pie, in the bakery where I got pumpkin donuts.

I didn't get a finger full of pumpkin pie, but someone did!