On a cool October weekend, we headed to a cottage in Port Elgin for the Pumpkinfest Fall Festival.
Port Elgin is on the waterfront of Lake Huron. It’s a lovely small town with a charming main street dotted with restaurants, single-proprietor shops, live music bars and the occasional festival.
Pumpkinfest takes over the main street with vintage cars and pick up trucks and even a Volkswagen bus. In parking lots and sidewalks you’ll find rummage sales, crafts, farm products, retail booths. In the stores, there are often extra sales tables to entice the visitor. If you want a pie from the bakery, get there early or reserve ahead!
The big draw seems to be the International Weigh-Off for pumpkins and other giant squash. It’s astonishing how large these vegetables grow! It takes a crane to lift them onto the weighing platform. The stadium seats in a large tent are filled with observers and the kids run around below.
You may see demonstrations nearby of gigantic pumpkin carving, if you stick around.
We had a great time, and when the weather turned icy, we took off back to the cottage to open up our sausage and bread and tuck in for some delightful snacking.
Giant pumpkins rest on the back of a semi-truck as inclement weather rolls in.
Thompson Bros. farm truck which delivered butter, eggs and poultry around Teeswater, Mildmay.
Pumpkinfest admission bracelet
Hot rod and Autumn leaves
1924 Ford Snow Truck with skis, no tires.
Tim Hortons, “place orders here.” As the roads were closed for the festival, the drive-thru exit became the place to line up for coffee.
Locally made Summer sausage
Giant pumpkin on a pallet, ready to be mounted on the sling of a crane contraption, just to be weighed for the competition.
http://www.pumpkinfest.org/