You will never believe this, I went to a pumpkin drop! The pumpkin was 1,576 pounds and was judged the second largest pumpkin in Ontario. People were gathering from one thirty to see the drop at two o'clock. This is an annual event in Eganville and takes place in the car park of a supermarket. I have never seen such an enormous pumpkin. Unfortunately they are not edible at that size, they are "bred" for competition only.
The pumpkin arrived a couple of days before the event and was stored on a cart in the car park. It was hoisted up by a crane, sat perched in a sling like mechanism way up in the air, with a rope attached to the bottom to release it when ready. Some children were invited to come over and help pull the rope. During the activity there was a raffle taking place, with proceeds going to the Eganville food bank. Just before the drop all ticket stubs were put in a plastic bag and then into the pumpkin, through the hole that had been cut in it to remove the seeds. Champion pumpkin growers do not share their pumpkin seeds with anyone, which is to be understood.
The MC, and the people standing around to see the drop all counted down from ten. Then the children and one hefty man tugged the rope hard. Splat!!! The pumpkin hit the ground with giant force and broke into dozens of different sized pieces. Everyone rushed over to see it and take a piece home if they would like to. I settled for picking a piece up, my goodness was my piece heavy. I had no idea that pumpkins could be so weighty. It was fun to watch, even if it was a bit chilly and drizzling with rain. All told it was a really interesting experience.
Interesting activity........As I always said: there is a fun kind of life in small towns. Glad you stumbled into one!!!
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