BLOOMINGTON – Few horticultural crops signal the arrival of autumn more so than pumpkins.
This fall, scores of shoppers will make an annual pilgrimage to a farmers’ market to purchase a vegetable they are (unfortunately) very unlikely to eat. Pumpkins are still valuable as a food crop but are more widely used for their ornamental value. Brightly colored orange pumpkins are a staple for fall decorations.
Pumpkin Trivia:
- Pumpkins have been grown in North America for five thousand years.
- While Morton, Illinois, the self-proclaimed Pumpkin Capital of the World, holds an annual ‘Punkin Chuckin’ contest, the City of Bloomington’s Parks and Rec will host their annual Bloomington Pumpkin Launch on Saturday, October 26 at the Monroe County Fairgrounds.
- The heaviest pumpkin ever grown weighed 2009 lbs. and was grown in Topsfield, Maine, in 2012.
- The largest pumpkin pie ever baked weighed 2,020 pounds and measured more than 12 feet in size. It took 5 hours to bake and produced over 3000 slices of pie.
- Finally, pumpkins were once recommended for removing freckles and curing snake bites.
Pumpkins will be plentiful at Saturday’s Bloomington Community Farmers’ Market at Showers Commons, 401 North Morton Street, from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Music at the Market
The Bloomington Bones, founded in Bloomington, by Wilson Winner in 1984, are affiliated with the Bloomington Community Band.
They play an eclectic selection of music – jazz to classical.
Not pictured: David Johnson, David Shank, and Ken Upchurch.
Thier performance begins at 10 a.m. this Saturday on the BCFM Circular Stage.
Mayor’s Team at the Table
This community outreach program invites Market-goers to engage with the mayor and various department heads from the City of Bloomington government.
This Saturday, Director of Planning and Transportation David Hittle will greet the public at the Farmers’ Market between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.
