damariscotta pumpkin festival

what fun!

today we went to damariscotta for the pumpkin festival. i didn't even know they had this until last week or so. what happens is, someone gives out giant pumpkin seeds (that is, seeds to grow the giant pumpkin. i don't know how big the seeds themselves are). people all try to grow the pumpkins, and in october harvest them and see who grew the biggest one. the biggest pumpkin gets to be in the parade, and the loser pumpkins are carved and painted into neat-o shapes, things, and creatures on main street. my favorite i think was the pumpkin that was carved into a pine cone. the fetus carving was creepy and neat, that went in front of the maine cloth diaper company and baby store, so it was kind of fitting.

there was lots to do for the kids too. the girls made crafts (nina a pumpkin, maggie a leaf picture frame), jumped in a bounce pumpkin (maggie LOVED it. i had to drag her out screaming when her turn was done. poor girl!), threw some bean bags at a wood pumpkin target, picked a small pumpkin from a patch (nina had to have the one that looked like a butt, and maggie just wanted to take every one of them), and other such pumpkin-themed fun. it all ended today with a parade. tomorrow there will be more fun--pumpkin catapulting & pumpking boat racing (??? like, will people paddle in hollowed out pumpkins? i don't think they were that big, so maybe they'll just float them?). but tomorrow we're going to the fall foliage fair, so we'll be missing all that.

the fall foliage fair needs a bounce house, it's really not keeping up with the damariscotta pumpkin festival. or at least a hay pile... something for the kids besides the train. well, maybe there is more than in years past, i'll let you know tomorrow.