PILGER, Sask. – Pumpkins were weighed, smashed, juggled and catapulted at the fourth annual Pilger Pumpkin Festival Sept. 26.
Among this year’s surprises was a medieval-looking catapult, built by the father and son team of Pat and Eric Pomedli of Pilger.
The large wooden catapult was the brainchild of Eric, the festival’s chief pumpkin weighing officer.
He saw it on a pumpkin chucking video on the internet and thought they could construct something like it for the festival.
“It was a last-minute design … we were up until 4 a.m. this morning building it.
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“We tried basing it on theory, angles and ratios, but we couldn’t really decide on our design until we found out what kind of materials we had. Next year will be bigger and better … we’re hoping for some type of cannon.”
The Pomedlis hope everyone was impressed with what they saw.
“Not everybody’s good at growing pumpkins,” Eric said. “Some of us have to smash a few.”
“It’s faster and easier to destroy them,” Pat said.
Festival volunteer Scott Lessmeister showed his pumpkin juggling prowess and Frank and Millie Punk provided several vegetables for the oversized and unusually shaped vegetable display, which included a seven pound kohlrabi, a 7.5 lb. beet and a cabbage that was larger than a globe.
A pumpkin shot put was added this year. Trevor Otsig, athletic director at Three Lakes School in Middle Lake, challenged area school directors to compete against him. Luke Strueby, representing Lake Lenore, won the event.
The public was also invited to participate in the pumpkin shot-put. Wes Schaefer launched his pumpkin 16.3 metres and earned top prize. Wes and his wife Erin attended for the first time.
“We’re having a great time,” Erin said. “It’s a wonderful event.”
Pilger has a population of 80, with 120 volunteers from the community and surrounding area participating in the festival. Bieringer said it shows what can be accomplished with community spirit.
“It’s a family day,” he said. “The kids enjoy the games going on and there’s always something for the adults.”
The festival has become a model for other communities like Indian Head, Sask., which is now initiating its own annual pumpkin festival. Gwen Johner, committee chair for Indian Head’s Communities in Bloom, said that its pumpkin festival is now in its third year.
“I was just intrigued with what was going on in Pilger and it fit nicely with Communities in Bloom, so we said we would do it in conjunction with our volunteer appreciation night. Our festival is nothing like Pilger’s, but we’re getting there.”
Festival-goers in Pilger were treated to several hours of live music by local entertainers, an array of pumpkin pies and a hamburger barbecue, games, a scavenger hunt, fish pond and horse-drawn cart rides.
Committee chair Roman Bieringer said 460 attended the event.
“We’re happy with that. It’s a little less than last year, but not very much. It was harvest and a lot of our retired farm guys are helping out in the field. Last year more guys were done combining by this time.”
A festival highlight is the pumpkin growing competition. This year, Felix Fischer of Pilger won the $100 first prize in the senior category.
He had to enter his second largest pumpkin, which was 243.5 lb., after his largest became diseased and collapsed a few weeks before the weigh-in.
He noticed “a little spot on it” and it quickly lost 30 lb..
“Around Sept. 1, it was already 300 lb., and with the warm weather I’m sure it would have reached 450 to 500 lb.”
Pilger competes in a largest pumpkin contest with Nokomis, Sask., which won with a 452 lb. contender.
“We’ve each won two years,” Fischer said. “Pilger’s mayor will treat the mayor of Nokomis to a free dinner.”
Other winners in the senior category of the pumpkin growing competition were Roman Bieringer and Jerry Doll.
In the junior category, Makayla Hauser received the $150 first prize for her 128.5 lb. pumpkin.
Pumpkin carving is another important feature of the festival. Amanda Jurgens earned first in the senior category, Samantha Schreiner won in intermediate and Tristen Thimm placed first in the junior.
Schreiner said she worked on her pumpkin for about two hours and won $35 for her efforts.
