Swimming for Gourd
Nine-year-old Avery Walth (right) and five-year-old Hudson Walth came prepared collect pumpkins at the New Ulm Aquatic Center Sunday. Photo by Clay Schuldt
Six-year-old Jameson Meyers decorates a pumpkin he pulled out of the pool at the New Ulm Recreation Center. Photo by Clay Schuldt
Six-year-old Jameson Meyers decorates a pumpkin he pulled out of the pool at the New Ulm Recreation Center. Photo by Clay Schuldt
Five-year-old Hudson Walth holds up two small pumpkins recovered from the Aquatic Center pool. Photo by Clay Schuldt
Nine-year-old Avery Walth (right) and five-year-old Hudson Walth came prepared collect pumpkins at the New Ulm Aquatic Center Sunday. Photo by Clay Schuldt
Six-year-old Jameson Meyers decorates a pumpkin he pulled out of the pool at the New Ulm Recreation Center. Photo by Clay Schuldt
Six-year-old Jameson Meyers decorates a pumpkin he pulled out of the pool at the New Ulm Recreation Center. Photo by Clay Schuldt
Five-year-old Hudson Walth holds up two small pumpkins recovered from the Aquatic Center pool. Photo by Clay Schuldt
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NEW ULM - Pumpkin picking is a common fall activity, but rarely does it require swimming.
On Sunday, the New Ulm Recreation Center Aquatic Center hosted a floating pumpkin patch. Around 80 small pumpkins were dropped into the pool. Kid participants were allowed to swim with the pumpkins, collect a favorite and then decorate the gourd.
The floating pumpkin patch has been a fall tradition at the aquatic center for years, going back over a decade.
Park & Rec aquatics coordinator Dylan Maanum said it was a fun little exercise to spice up Sunday's open swim.
"Its a pretty simple event. We rinse off the pumpkins and drop them in the pool," he said. "You don't think about it much, but a pumpkin is mostly hollow so it will float."
Maanum said they only place smaller pumpkins in the pool because they don't want the children to struggle hauling in a larger one.
A few dozens children participated in this year's floating pumpkin patch. Two of the most enthusiastic pumpkin swimmers were 9-year-old Avery Walth and her brother 5-year-old Hudson Walth. This was their first year attending the floating pumpkin patch and neither knew what to expect.
"They asked me if they would need to dive for the pumpkins," their mother, Jami Walth, said. "I wasn't sure if the pumpkins would float so we brought goggles to be safe."
The biggest challenge was determining which pumpkin to select, as there several great ones to choose from.
After the children collected their favorite pumpkin, they had the option to decorate it with paint and other craft items.
Six-year-old Jameson Meyer and his brother 3-year-old Hudson Meyer were the first to decorate their gourds. Jameson Meyer went for a multi-colored pumpkin, first applying a white coat followed by a blue stripes. Hudson Meyer added a full red coat of paint to his pumpkin. He thought it would be fun to make his pumpkin resemble an apple. Considering his pumpkin was bobbing in water a few minutes earlier, it was an appropriate choice.