The 2014 Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta drew banner crowds this year on Columbus Day weekend. Local police estimated the crowd at the Pumpkin Parade on Saturday alone as greater than 8,000 spectators.
This was the eighth annual celebration of all things pumpkin. Each year crowds of visitors new and old come to the Twin Villages to wander the streets and side roads looking at carved and painted giant pumpkins.
The giant gourds are the stars of a 10 day event that began last weekend with the North Atlantic Giant Pumpkin Weigh-off at Pinkham’s Plantation on Biscay Road. The state record breaking pumpkin, coming in at 1,695 pounds shared a float with grower Joseph Gaboury in the Pumpkin Parade on Saturday.
Visitors from Brunswick, Bath and Wiscasset came to Pumpkinfest by rail on Saturday, Sunday and Monday on Maine Eastern’s Pumpkin Patch Express which stopped at the Newcastle station. Trolley cars shuttled visitors from parking areas on the outskirts of both sides of Damariscotta’s downtown.
Pumpkinfest 2014 featured kids’ activities on Water Street, dessert making and pie eating contests, a pumpkin hurl and catapult, a pumpkin derby, underwater pumpkin carving, and the 180-foot pumpkin drop in addition to the parade with the nationally renowned pumpkin regatta closing the festivities on Columbus Day.
Saturday’s pumpkin dessert contest at Skidompha Library had 28 entries this year,
Heather Troydl, chairperson of the Pumpkinfest Dessert Contest, said the judging would be a little different this year. “With so many entries, we have divided it into three tables,” she said, “Each judge will taste the selections in one grouping and choose two. Then they will select the winners from those six.”
Judges Susan Axlerod, food critic for the Portland Press Herald; Alison Prey, Standard Baking Company owner and Becky Shepherd, owner of Wild Oats Bakery began the not-so-arduous task of tasting the confections around 11:30, with the winners announced on the library steps at around 1:30.
King Arthur Flour sponsors the event with Crissy’s Breakfast & Coffee Bar and donated prizes of money, King Arthur cookbooks, and King Arthur gift cards. First place winner Tiffany Thomas received $150 for her Pumpkin Pecan Holiday Bundt Cake.
Ellen and Ingrid Whittaker shared the $100 second place prize for their Pumpkin Napoleans. Lynn Kalloch took third place, and won $50 for her Pumpkin Mousse with Pumpkin Seed Brittle. Honorable mentions went to Greg Bartholomae and the McKenzie family.
This was the first contest Thomas ever entered and she almost didn’t make it. “I use only fresh ingredients,” she said. “I picked the apples today and toasted the pecans and by the time I got here it was close to 11:30.”
Thomas has just had her kitchen licensed and is excited to share her skills with the community. “I love cooking with elderberries,” she said, “A lot of folks are unfamiliar with them and it is so fun to surprise them.” Her new business, Neat Sweets, is setting up a Facebook page.
Before the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest Parade, the streets and sidewalks were literally wall-to-wall with spectators. Local businesses set food vendors on the streets and booths for many nonprofits filled the Colby & Gale Service station lot.
Amateur and professional photographers took photos of dozens of giant pumpkins transformed into whimsical, silly or uniquely beautiful works by professional and amateur artists alike.
Children had their faces painted into fantastical creatures by Fletcher Face Art, bounced in huge bouncy houses, played games in the Kids Zone, and ate popcorn handed out for free.
Visitors from around the world patronized local eateries and shops, finding unique treasures to take home. Three students from Orono collectively, were probably the furthest from home, hailing from Japan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Saturday’s highlight was the longest parade held in Damariscotta/Newcastle in recent memory. It lasted an hour featuring floats from local farms, two sets of Scottish bagpipers, two floats with rock musicians putting on the Ritz, performance troupes from Midcoast Dance Studio and Hearts Ever Young, and the Shoestring Theater’s magnificent puppets, made by Melissa Glendinning and friends.
The tooth fairy visited children and adults, handing out tooth floss. The Pumpkin fairy and many in bright orange costumes marched along Main Street. The appreciative crowd saw no mishaps and the level of camaraderie was high.
The Thurston family moved to Lincoln County just a few months ago from Bethesda, Md. This was their first local festival. “This is mind-boggling,” said Paul Thurston. “Where we lived this would have been overrun with police, there would have been some kind of trouble and no one would have dreamed of letting kids just join in the parade.” His wife of 50 years, Alissa, agreed.
“I can’t wait to get the great- grandchildren here next fall. We knew this was a beautiful area but not what a true community lives here,” she said.
A pumpkin pie eating contest closed out Saturday’s festivities, with live musicians playing into the wee hours at several restaurants.
Sunday dawned brighter and warmer and brought huge crowds to the Pumpkin Derby in the Elm Street Parking lot. Fifty or so races were held in three divisions, children, teen and adult. Awards were given for winners as well as creativity in design.
Each entrant had to do their own decorating so judges had to use a little experience to decide if a slickly painted pumpkin was really done by a 4-year-old. In this competition, there were no such issues. Alice, 4, had her favorite patterned duct tape and was daintily finishing up her racer. “Grampa says I am a real Maine girl because I fix all my toys with duct tape,” she said.
Pumpkins over 20 pounds were eliminated from competition by sledge hammer, to the delight of the gathered observers.
The nearly three hour derby gave way to the buskers on Theater Street. The South Bristol Elementary School brought their acclaimed jump rope team plus, uni-cyclists and jugglers to entertain. A barbershop quartet sang old favorites. Midcoast Dance School gave a demonstration that included tap, jazz, hip-hop, ballet and excerpts from “The Nutcracker.” Hearts Ever Young wrapped up the buskers’ event with lively music.
The Great Pumpkin Drop was next up on Sunday in conjunction with the pumpkin hunt at Round Top Farms. While waiting for humongous gourds to plummet 180 feet onto derelict vehicles some 3,000 plus spectators enjoyed the music of the Nikki Hunt Band while 300 kids lined up for the pumpkin hunt.
Adham Fonseca, 18 months old, could hardly wait. The Bangor visitor just learned to walk two weeks ago but was off and running to keep up with the big kids. Waylaid by some acorns he fell behind to toss them at his mom but was soon back on the chase, finding a pumpkin too big for him to lift.
He made a valiant effort, landing on his well-padded derriere several times before he was victorious. “He doesn’t know a pumpkin from an acorn, but he is having a grand time,” his mother said laughing.
The coveted Golden Pumpkin was discovered by Charlie Lorentzen, an 11-year-old from Palm Beach, Fla. He was awarded a gift card to Renys and called up on the stage with the Nikki Hunt Band, where “Charlie and the Golden Pumpkin” were compared with glee to the Roald Dahl classic “I’ve Got a Golden Ticket” from the 1971 movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
Each child received a prize along with their pumpkin to take home, donated by Clark Farms. This year 300 pumpkins were hidden in plain sight in the lower fields, up from 250 last year.
Autumn’s brightest foliage framed the field as babies, dogs, and everyone else played in the grass while waiting for the main event: the willful destruction of two derelict vehicles.
New this year, a motorized drop mechanism eliminated the need to pull the ropes attached to the 180 foot tall crane to loose the pumpkins. The cheering crowd saw two direct hits by pumpkins weighing 900 pounds or greater and many lingered to examine the totally flattened vehicles.
These pumpkins were from championship growers Charlie LoPresti and Joseph Gaboury, so there were no seeds to collect from the wreckage as in years past. The harvested seeds will be sprouted and given away in the spring at Pinkham’s Plantation as the cycle of growing begins again.
The crowds headed off, to wander downtown, grab a bite to eat or just head home to rest up for Monday’s famous grand finale, the Pumpkinfest Regatta.
For lists of the many winners in the numerous events at the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest and Regatta this week, please visit www.damariscottapumpkinfest.com.
