- Circleville Pumpkin Show
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2009 champion pumpkins, with their weights in pounds written on them
The Circleville Pumpkin Show is an annual festival held in Circleville, Ohio. The festival, which is held to celebrate local agriculture, is headed up by the Circleville Pumpkin Show Corporation. Considered to be the biggest festival dedicated to pumpkins in the United States, it is billed as The Greatest Free Show On Earth. Attendance has topped 400,000 for the four day event, which is free to enter.
Contents
Dates
The Pumpkin Show begins on the 3rd Wednesday of October, and lasts until that Saturday. In recent years, a Tuesday preview night has been introduced, adding an unofficial half day to the event.
Locations
Starting on the Sunday before the festival, work begins to restrict traffic in the downtown area of Circleville, which is 30 miles south of Columbus, Ohio. The restricted areas dedicated to the show are from South Scioto Street on the west to Pickaway Street on the east, and Watt/Pinckney Street on the north to Franklin Street on the south. More than 12 blocks are restricted by this event, which causes massive detours throughout a major portion of the city, including Ohio State Route 56 and U.S. Route 22. Because there is no organized parking system, many small businesses and non-profit organizations provide parking.
History
In October 1903, Mayor George Haswell decided to hold a small pumpkin & corn exhibit in front of his store to celebrate the local harvest. This small exhibit featured corn, carved pumpkins and other harvest-themed displays. Because of the prominence of pumpkins in this first exhibit, the name "The Pumpkin Show" was then coined. In the following years local merchants were attracted to improve the size, scope and attendance of the festival. By 1905, the first ride was installed. Soon after, with the success of the shows, an annual festival was organized to be held on the city streets to attract merchants, patrons and improve the quality of the festival.
The Pumpkin Show has been held annually since 1903. Despite it still being held during the influenza outbreaks of 1918-1919, The Pumpkin Show was silenced for one year during World War I and two years during World War II. Aside from this three-year gap, there have been no other recorded occurrences of the Circleville Pumpkin Show being canceled or postponed.
Traditions
Every Pumpkin Show officially kicks off with the weigh-in of large pumpkins from around the area. The largest pumpkin to date was grown by Bob & Jo Liggett, with their entry weighing in at 1,635 pounds. Recent weigh-ins have had multiple entries that go over 1,000 pounds.
Every year, Lindsey's Bakery creates the "world's largest" pumpkin pie. Visitors can be in line for over an hour to see the pie. At the 100th anniversary Pumpkin Show in 2006, the bakery had to make a much bigger pie compared to previous years to officially reclaim the title of world's largest. The pie pan was so large that it was moved outside of the bakery window and into a tent out on the street.
Another long-standing tradition of the Circleville Pumpkin Show is a pageant to crown the Little Miss and Miss Pumpkin Show Queen. The Little Miss Pumpkin Show Queen must be in the 1st grade at a school in Pickaway County, while the Miss Pumpkin Show Queen must be a junior or senior from one of the six local high schools. Once crowned, they lead off each parade for the rest of the event.
Seven parades in total are held during the event (two on Wednesday-Friday, one night parade on Saturday). These parades feature performances by many local high school and middle school bands, as well as other local organizations. The Ohio University Marching 110, which is often referred to as "The Most Exciting Band In The Land," has made numerous trips to highlight Thursday night's parade of bands. The 2006 Pumpkin Show welcomed The Ohio State University Marching Band. They came back in 2010 to march in the parade of bands again and hold a concert afterwards.
List of Miss Pumpkin Show Queens
- 1933: Queen Lucille Heise
- 1934: Queen Eleanor Anderson
- 1935: Queen Anne Thatcher
- 1936: Queen Dolly Riffle
- 1937: Queen Thelma Pyle
- 1938: Queen Ruth Fitch
- 1939: Queen Kathryn Martin
- 1940: Queen Gloria Wilson
- 1941: Queen DonnaMae McCune
- (World War II hiatus)
- 1944: Queen Mildred Frazier
- 1945: Queen Pearl Roese
- 1946: Queen Patricia Love
- 1947: Queen Mary Woods
- 1948: Queen Beverly Huston
- 1949: Queen Patty Moats
- 1950: Queen Yvonne Flannery
- 1951: Queen Charlene Jackson
- 1952: Queen Wilma Jean Wilkinson
- 1953: Queen Ruth Ann Valentine
- 1954: Queen Judy Walters
- 1955: Queen Virginia Reisinger
- 1956: Queen Eleanor Aldenderfer
- 1957: Queen Joann Graves
- 1958: Queen Joy Maughmer
- 1959: Queen Vivian Gifford
- 1960: Queen Peggy Clark
- 1961: Queen Carol Torchick
- 1962: Queen Barbara Davis
- 1963: Queen Page Miller
- 1964: Queen Shauna Humphrey
- 1965: Queen Debbie Ankrom
- 1966: Queen Pat Dawley
- 1967: Queen Janet Collins
- 1968: Queen Peggy Mayo
- 1969: Queen Vivian Sheets
- 1970: Queen Vanessa Hatfield
- 1971: Queen Cheryl Miller
- 1972: Queen Kathy Uland
- 1973: Queen Kimberly Timberlake
- 1974: Queen Laurie May
- 1975: Queen Salley Schlegler
- 1976: Queen Cindy Gifford
- 1977: Queen Karen Cochran
- 1978: Queen Carol Moore
- 1979: Queen Mary Kay Marshall
- 1980: Queen Mona Southern
- 1981: Queen Deidre Vancamp
- 1982: Queen Brenda Myers
- 1983: Queen Stephanie Timbrook
- 1984: Queen Sandy Haddox
- 1985: Queen Shonna Thompson
- 1986: Queen Leesa Marie
- 1987: Queen Lorie Hendrickson
- 1988: Queen Christina Brunning
- 1989: Queen Dierdre Conley
- 1990: Queen Tara Harrison
- 1991: Queen Dawnaka Overly
- 1992: Queen Carrie Bialy
- 1993: Queen Sabrina Miller
- 1994: Queen Leah Coey
- 1995: Queen Jaymie Hoops
- 1996: Queen Lindsey Logan
- 1997: Queen Tia Marie Jean
- 1998: Queen Shannon Stowers
- 1999: Queen Courtney Vickers
- 2000: Queen Makiah Maxson
- 2001: Queen Kacy Walton
- 2002: Queen Katy Ankrom
- 2003: Queen MaLeah Thornton
- 2004: Queen Samantha Vinkovich
- 2005: Queen Courtney Congrove
- 2006: Queen Kristen Walters
- 2007: Queen Andrea Turner
- 2008: Queen Rachel Congrove
- 2009: Queen Tracie Messer
- 2010: Queen Katie Cline
- 2011: Queen Sarah Johnson
See also
- Pumpkin
- Pumpkin Queens
References
- Houts, Kelli. "Pumpkin show hits century mark," The Lantern (Thursday, October 19, 2006): Arts 9.
External links
- America's Pumpkin Festivals - Aug. 15, 2002
- Courtney Congrove, Miss Pumpkin
- The Official Circleville Pumpkin Show Website - 100th Anniversary
- Photos of the 1976 Circleville Pumpkin Show
Coordinates: 39°36′6.62″N 82°56′42.29″W / 39.6018389°N 82.9450806°W
Categories:- Festivals in Ohio
- Food festivals in the United States
- Visitor attractions in Pickaway County, Ohio
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