Reaping a harvest at Pumpkinfest
By KURT NESBITT, Journal Staff WriterArticle Photos
NEW ULM - Anna Geiger and her two boys were busy picking through the boxes of small gourds on the hay wagon parked in Ron Domeier's front yard on Sunday afternoon.
Geiger said she and her boys, Jacob and Anthony, were looking through the boxes for gourds she could use to decorate her front porch.
Like many of the parents, who brought their children out to Domeier's farm for the annual Pumpkinfest, Geiger donated something - Rice Krispie bars - and took something home from the event, which aims to raise money for classroom technology for New Ulm Area Catholic Schools, where Jacob and Anthony attend grade school.
Pumpkinfest stayed busy throughout the day despite the fact that grey clouds lingered overhead. Volunteers directed traffic on the section of Brown County Road 27 that ran between the two driveways of the farms where visitors parked their vehicles.
"I'm happy that this rain held off, but it's been steady. We haven't had the clump of people like we usually do," said Jo Dierksen, chairperson of the committee that organizes the annual fundraiser.
A small FFA petting zoo, which featured geese, ducks and four sheep, and two new kinds of food at the food stand were the new additions to Pumpkinfest this year.
The pumpkin rolling competition, a Pumpkinfest feature for several years, stayed busy on the hill in the pasture near the yard with children kneeling down at the top of the hill, pushing the pumpkins off and watching the vegetables down the hill into a stream bed at the bottom.
Pumpkin painting proved popular as older children lined up at a table underneath a tent to have a chance to paint a silly face or 'Happy Halloween' across their pumpkin.
Dain's Dutchmen provided the music for the afternoon from the front deck of Domeier's house. Nearby, volunteers kept busy serving popcorn from the garage.
Dierksen said 1,200 pumpkins were grown and donated for the festival. Ten different varieties of corn could be had at the fundraiser. Baskets and boxes of several different varieties of gourds, some that had names like "Caveman Club" or "Lady Godiva" or "Crown Of Thorns" were gathered around the hay wagon with different varieties of pumpkins, like the "Goblin Egg" or "Wee-Be-Little" or "Sweet Lightning" varieties.
As in every Pumpkinfest past, the proceeds benefit New Ulm Area Catholic Schools. Dierksen said NUACS wants new computers and projectors for Cathedral High School. The fundraiser is also supported by a matching grant from Catholic Aid.
Domeier said organizers don't keep track of how many people come to Pumpkinfest, so attendance figures are impossible to attain, except entrance into the Corn Maze requires tickets and 529 tickets were sold Sunday afternoon. He said over 1,000 pumpkins were sold Sunday afternoon. Organizers won't know the total amount Pumpkinfest raised until all the event's bills are paid.
While Pumpkinfest might only last one day, the Corn Maze will return next weekend.
As in years past, the NUACS Haunted Corn Maze will run from 7-11 p.m. this Saturday. A bonfire is also scheduled for that evening.
