One of the best things about Fall is pumpkin-flavored everything.

 

The best place to a wide variety of pumpkin edibles?

 

The Circleville Pumpkin Show!

 

Since I am living in Ohio again and try to make an effort to explore my own backyard and love to eat, a visit to the Circleville Pumpkin Show was a must this year.

The Circleville Pumpkin Show

If you are not from Ohio, you may not have heard of this annual event, but I promise you it is a very big deal.  While the crowds have topped 400,000, it is still at its heart a small town festival held to celebrate local agriculture.

This was actually my first visit to the Circleville Pumpkin Show (at least that I remember – my parents probably took me as a child).  While I could do without the fair rides and silly games where you can spend $5 to win a prize worth 50 cents, I loved the stars of the show:  ginormous pumpkins and pumpkin-flavored everything.

Ginormous Pumpkins

Artsy Pumpkins

Delicious Pumpkins

The anticipation for this event made me feel as if I were starving when I arrived at the festival.  The first food cart I saw was for pumpkin mini donuts.  No harm in starting with dessert, right?

These did not disappoint, but I needed something more savory with more substance. Then I saw a sign for a pumpkin chili dog. Yes, please!

 

I had to let my food settle a bit to make room for more.  Here are just a few of the many pumpkin options I saw as I wandered through the festival.

 

 

I finally discovered one of the two pumpkin foods I really wanted to try. I had done my research on food options at the Circleville Pumpkin Show before I went, and I was on a mission to find the pumpkin chili.

The pumpkin chili did not disappoint.

 

As I shoveled spoonfuls of chili in my mouth, the sweet local woman working at the Rotary Club food cart explained how many gallons they make each year (it’s a lot), and there is one person who knows the secret recipe.  She makes a bunch of spice packets for the Rotary Club ladies to make the chili every year.

The other food I really wanted to try?

Pumpkin cake donuts from Lindsey’s Bakery.

 

But there was a problem. The photo below shows the most ridiculous food line I have ever seen. In fact, there are actually two lines. The really long line along the side of the building extends well beyond the photo. I am also standing in another line for a food cart outside the regular bakery.

Unfortunately, the bakery poorly managed this situation, and the end result was that I waited in line for about 20 minutes and did not get a donut.  I was told i had to move to a longer line.  That was not happening.

But I did walk up to the bakery and check out this ginormous pumpkin pie.  This pie is six feet in diameter and weighs over 400 pounds.  I’m still trying to figure out how 40 pounds of sugar can fit into this pie.

What’s your favorite pumpkin dish?