CORRECTION - Not sure what to do with your giant pumpkin? Paddle it around a pond

Record ID: 1851264

  • Title: CORRECTION - Not sure what to do with your giant pumpkin? Paddle it around a pond
  • Date: 27th October 2024
  • Summary: KASTERLEE, BELGIUM (OCTOBER 27, 2024) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CONTESTANTS PADDLING IN GIANT PUMPKINS VARIOUS DRONE SHOTS OF CONTESTANTS PADDLING IN GIANT PUMPKINS (MUTE) CONTESTANT SCREAMING (Dutch) TO TEAM MATE IN PUMPKIN: ‘Faster!’ CONTESTANTS PADDLING CONTESTANT GETTING OUT OF THE WATER AND ENDING THE RACE BY PUTTING HIS PADDLE STICK IN A HOLLOWED OUT PUMPKIN (SOUNDBITE) (
  • Embargoed: 10th November 2024 18:45
  • Keywords: Halloween pumpkins
  • Location: KASTERLEE, BELGIUM
  • City: KASTERLEE, BELGIUM
  • Country: Belgium
  • Topics: Europe,Human-Led Quirky,Human-Led Stories
  • Reuters ID: LVA001474325102024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE, SOME SHOTS IN THIS EDIT WERE FILMED WITH AN INSTA360 CAMERA, WHICH USES SOFTWARE TO REMOVE THE SELFIE STICK
    More than 300 pumpkin lovers in northern Belgium on Sunday (October 27) grabbed the opportunity to paddle the giant hollowed-out fruits over a pond in the town of Kasterlee, marking the height of the pumpkin season with the traditional annual race.
    The race started in 2008 after local growers decided they needed to find a different use for their 400-plus kg (880-pound) pumpkins besides turning them into soup.
    The local Pumpkin Society and the Kasterlee Kayak Klub collaborate to organize the regatta. They also hold a pumpkin contest, which this year produced the European champion at a weight of 1,160 kilograms (2557.36 lb).
    Getting this big is a race in itself for the pumpkins who only start growing in June, so they only have 4-5 months to gain weight.
    To carve out the boats, however, the experts seek out the lightweights between 300 and 500 kilograms.
    Still, paddling the unusual kayaks takes some skill.
    "It's like a coracle, ... it's a canoe but it doesn't have a front or a back so there's a lot of muscle you need in order to try and keep it steady and go in the direction you need," said Mark Smitham, an Englishman living in Brussels.
    "So yeah I'm a little out of breath, I should do more canoeing. It's quite exhilarating but with a crowd it's great fun," he added, referring to the around 5,000 spectators who had flocked to Kasterlee to watch the 15. edition of the spectacle.
    After the race, the pumpkins are not eaten but still put to good use.
    "Some years ago, we were left with a lot of big pumpkins and we wanted to do something for everyone around the Halloween story. That's how the regatta came about," said Dries Molans, one of the organizers.
    "We hollow them out, keep the seed for next year and the pumpkin boats are thrown on the field, where they will serve as fertilizer for next year."
    (Production: Bart Biesemans)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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