Pumpkin Passion

This weekend was jammed with pumpkin events. It was so full that we had to get up early Saturday and Sunday just to fit them all in.

First off, early on Saturday morning we drove over to the Cal Poly Pomona Pumpkin Festival. When we drove past the crosswalk in front of the event, we realized that we may have forgotten an important item, a wagon. It seemed as though everyone had a wagon or a wheelbarrow and those that were headed back from the event had pumpkins piled high.

The pumpkin field was brimming with pumpkins. However, upon closer inspection the pumpkins weren’t growing out of the ground. They’d been gently placed all over the grassy hills. I saw a few people with pumpkins that had vines attached. So, maybe there was a section of the pumpkin patch where pumpkins were planted.

They also had a few craft and food booths but none had anything pumpkin to eat. What was surprising was seeing people eat the craziest foods at 9:00 a.m. like kettle corn, cotton candy, ice cream, and funnel cakes.

It’s a fairly small festival. The main event is picking your pumpkin—$5 each or 5 for $20. We picked out a good sized pumpkin but then had to carry it back to the car which was far, but could have been really REALLY far had we been shoved in one of the Timbuktu parking lots. Did I mention that it was close to 90 degrees this weekend. Walking in 90 degree heat, while carrying a large pumpkin, with not enough sleep, and PMSing is not exactly fun. By the time we got back to the car, I had a road rage break down while trying to back out of the parking. There was much cursing and screaming involved…it wasn’t pretty.

The best part was the Farm Store at Kellogg Ranch. The Agriculture Department at Cal Poly Pomona seems fairly large, which surprised me. They grow fruits and vegetable on the campus fields and then sell them at the Farm Store. It’s open year round and it has good prices on produce. We stocked up on butternut and acorn squash for only $1 each. They also had several products that are pumpkin oriented and by oriented I mean that they have Poprocks with pumpkins on the packaging but they are orange flavor—SOO very annoying. Those pumpkins that were not chosen over the weekend (So SAD!) can still be purchased at the Farm Store. Please give them a good home! In the end, I was glad that we went to the Cal Poly Pomona Pumpkin Festival in order to discover the Farm Store.

Other weekend pumpkin events included the Calabasas Pumpkin Festival, the best pumpkin eggnog ice cream ever, and a pumpkin tiramisu in a pumpkin head Mickey Mouse cup. Stay tuned as I attempt to blog each of them!

How’s your Pumpkin Eatin’ Season going? Been to any good pumpkin festivals lately?