Punkin Chunkin

Last Saturday John and I went to Punkin Chunkin in Delaware with some friends. This was the first (and probably the last) time I've gone to this event and let me tell ya - it was quite an experience!

Now I don't normally mind long car rides. We all have our knitting after all - right? But when you sit in traffic at a virtual stand still for 3 and half hours waiting to park in a corn field to see pumpkins fly through the air - you get a little annoyed...

We did finally get there and I have never, ever felt more like a Yankee in all my life. I mean we were in Delaware - but there were more Confederate flag flying, red-neck, farmer, nerds than I've ever seen in my life! Everything had confederate flags on it - the hats (more about this later), t-shirts, blankets, everything!


photo by Charles Bartholomew

Am I wrong? Isn't Delaware a northern state? Maybe I need a new map....

Anyway - here's the scene....



There were people tailgating, playing football, drinking.... alot, eating, and generally milling around - while all around you cannons and catapults are launching pumpkins into the air.


It was also freezing!! Here's a picture of John bundled up.



It was so cold that I really debated with myself for quite a while over whether ot not to buy hat..... a confederate flag hat that is.... It was the only hat I could find. I really, really didn't want to buy that hat. But was so cold!!!

Luckily - I was saved by my friend Tara, who found these instead. Aren't we cute hat twins:)



We walked around a bit to try to get the feeling back in our legs. They had an entire line of these huge air cannons. I thought it was genius that there were some built out of a school bus. I guess you use whatever you have and make it work! I mean how else would you get that cannon there?



This medieval looking thing caught my eye. It is called Yankee Seige. I was definitely feeling like a yankee at this point anyway - so I was intrigued. I stopped to watch their attempt.





They used white pumpkins - I guess they are supposed to be "better" for chunkin. You can see one of the crew setting the pumpkin in place - it's that volleyball looking thing he's holding!




and the launch! (if you look closely - you can actually see the pumpkin about to be swung.)



I don't think I ever actually saw the pumpkins from the cannons - they were going way too quickly - but I was able to see the pumpkins from this one.


We did manage to have some fun... here's John and our friend Tim getting fresh with a mannequin...