This post documents my experience on September 30, 2012.
You should never assume the size of a festival by the size of the town. Visits to festivals in Waynesville and Circleville helped put aside that type of thinking.
But when I arrived in Barnesville…
…for their annual Pumpkin Festival…
…I initially thought that the small=small thinking might actually apply.
Sure, there were plenty of food trucks…
…flag and T-shirt vendors…
…games, rides…
…and a central pumpkin display…
…but the closed-off festival area was medium-sized at best.
Then I realized…
…when I got to the front King Pumpkins display…
…that even more booths were lined down the cross street…
…or hidden behind downtown buildings…
…where there was even a stage.
And, if you kept digging around the downtown…
…you could find a flea market…
…a craft area (upstairs)…
…quilt shows and train rides…
…or, just down this road…
…a magical Ohio Cattlemen BBQ…
…where I found myself some lunch.
But my rewarding discoveries only continued…
…especially where pumpkins were concerned.
As I walked all over the festival grounds…
…I saw pumpkin rides…
…pumpkin glass (Jack Pine)…
…many pumpkin-theme storefront displays…
…and a juried pumpkin art section…
…where displays represented Charlotte’s Web…
…Pac Man…
…and some adorable mummies and turkeys.
And, of course, there was a fair share of pumpkin food…
…via donuts…
…fudge…
…bread…
…ice cream…
…and seeds.
Being that it all looked so good…
…I stopped here before leaving…
…and got myself a pumpkin snack for the road.