Pumpkin Festival in Slindon

This festival takes place in the English village of Slindon in West Sussex. The Pumpkin Festival is held annually in October. Hundreds of pumpkins of different varieties and sizes are put on display here. This year marks the 44th festival, attracting tourists from all over the world, including Germany, Japan and Australia.

The tradition began in 1968 when farmer Ralph Upton placed his seasonal pumpkin crop on the roof of his barn to ripen in the sun. This attracted the attention of the village people. He tried the same trick a year later, using the barn roof as a canvas for his pumpkin mural. Since then, it has become a tradition and has flowed into a festival. Every year, some new theme is used, for example, the Universe, or the Pyramids, or the Rialto Bridge in Venice. With the help of his assistants, Upton created incredible figures from pumpkins — boats, butterflies, witches, Noah’s Ark and even dinosaurs.

«I can’t paint pictures with paint — but I can do it with pumpkins,» says Upton. From the 1950s until his death in 2009, Ralph Upton cultivated pumpkins, planting about 20,000 seeds each spring, which included more than 50 types of pumpkins. He was once called the Pumpkin King — he well deserved this nickname.

Read also about the Lemon Festival, which is held in France, and the tomato La Tomatina — tomato fights in Spain