‘Donut Worry. Beer Happy’ festival to satisfy lovers of ales, pastries
Want a quick fix to satisfy your sweet tooth or quench your thirst for a wellcrafted brew? We have just the place for you.
With the motto “Donut Worry. Beer Happy,” the Donut and Beer Festival will offer a medley of palate-clashing offerings in Greater Columbus after three successful years in Michigan.
Originally started in Kalamazoo in 2017, Founder Brian Colopy rallied to hold the event inside Huntington Park on Oct. 16.
With a combined 46 beer and dough
And that means plenty of parades. On Oct. 20, the Little Miss Pumpkin Show Parade will take place at 3:30 p.m., and the Miss Pumpkin Show Parade at 8 p.m.
On Oct. 21, the parades begin at 3:30 with a Baby Parade.
“Those are kids from 0 to 35 months, and there are always lots of them,” said Nanisa Osborn, a trustee and media contact for the Pumpkin Show. “That's always entertaining, all the moms and dads pushing baby strollers.”
The Parade of Bands will get started at 8 p.m. Oct. 21 and will feature 22 groups, including the Ohio State University Marching Band.
Oct. 22 brings the Pet Parade at 3:30. “That's kids and adults with their critters. It's interesting every year. You'd think it would be just dogs and cats, but, goodness, no. I've seen goldfish in bowls and llamas and rats and hamsters. We don't allow ponies or horses, but other than that, it's hard to tell what you're going to see,” Osborn said.
That event is followed by a Parade of Civic and Fraternal Organizations at 8 p.m. Oct. 22, and a Queen Parade, featuring festival queens from around Ohio, at 8 p.m. Oct. 23.
In between parades and rides, there are plenty of opportunities for sampling pumpkin fare, including pumpkin buckeyes, pumpkin cream puffs, deep-fried pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice bubble tea, frozen pumpkin yogurt and pumpkin dog treats.
Guests can also watch Gus Smithhisler and his Squashcarver crew carving giant pumpkins from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 20-23.
Smithhisler has been making appearances at the Circleville Pumpkin Show since 2004.
“Giant pumpkins are fascinating because they're out of perspective,” he said. “They're 20 times larger than you'd think a pumpkin should be.”
What will he be carving into the pumpkins this year?
“I have no idea,” he said.
He usually starts by setting the pumpkins up on their stem ends, because that's usually the heavier end. “That gives a better canvas,” he said. Before he buys a pumpkin for carving, he checks it out.
“There are certain kinds of pumpkins that have that rock-solid shell, like a gourd, and those are very difficult to carve. A lot of the giants will end up with crackling or veining and a very hard surface. I prefer a nice smooth surface and good color,” he said.
Giant examples of the gourds from local growers will start rolling into the show the morning of Oct. 20.
“They start arriving about 9:15 in the morning,” Osborn said. “And they weigh them as they come in. It's a huge process. They're very heavy, so we have a whole strapping system to move them from the trailers to where they get displayed.”
Among the local growers who will be bringing their pumpkins in this year is Gale Hoover of Ashville, whose pumpkin won the “Nancy Martin Prettiest Pumpkin Award” last year.
He has been entering pumpkins into the show for the past 10 years. He had two giants growing this year, but one has been attacked by fungus.
The remaining one has been given plenty of attention.
“I always shade them so the 95-degree heat doesn't cook the pumpkins. I'm notorious for keeping fans on them, to keep mildew and mold off. But anything can happen. Sometimes, near the end, you have to worry about mice crawling under them to make a nest and get out of the cold.”
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