Vermont's Giant Pumpkin Regatta

Whenever I tell people about the Giant Pumpkin Regatta, they invariably respond: "Oh, that I'd like to see." Burlington, Vermont, is the place. And Sunday, October 7, 2012 (Columbus Day weekend) is the date if you, too, would be amused by the sight of Vermonters rowing giant, hollowed-out pumpkin boats on Lake Champlain.

I took these photos at the 2010 Giant Pumpkin Regatta, and they'll give you a sense of this unique and slightly insane New England fall event. Seeing goop scooped from 1,000-pound pumpkins is an experience in itself. When costumed paddlers climb inside these pumpkin boats for a madcap relay race on the waters of Lake Champlain, well... let me show you in these photos, rather than spill any more seeds.

Speaking of seeds, you'll likely be tempted to buy giant pumpkin seeds from the Vermont Giant Pumpkin Growers Association, which supplies the colossal pumpkins for the regatta. We had no luck growing our own gargantuan gourd, but there's always next year!