This Columbus Day (and in Maine, Indigenous Peoples Day) weekend, people walking by Gimbel and Sons Country Store in Boothbay Harbor may think, “You have a great pumpkin, Mr. Gimbel.” Mark Gimbel and wife Dianne bought a 1,500-pound orange pumpkin for display outside their store. The cancellation of this year’s Pumpkinfest in Damariscotta and Newcastle inspired the Gimbels to purchase the enormous gourd for their Columbus Day Weekend sale.

On Oct. 4, Mark Gimbel convinced other local merchants to buy nine giant pumpkins and squash traditionally grown for Pumpkinfest.

The Gimbels own Gimbel and Sons Country Store, The Smiling Cow and Windjammer Emporium. So Mark Gimbel saw an opportunity to promote his and other downtown Boothbay Harbor businesses by securing the behemoth gourds for display in downtown Boothbay Harbor. Gimbel secured commitments from seven Boothbay Harbor merchants to buy the gourds. Gimbel attended the annual weigh-in from 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 4, at Pinkham’s Plantation in Damariscotta. 

By Monday morning, Gimbel had commitments from two more merchants to purchase the giant vegetables. Mark Gimbel felt bad for growers who couldn’t sell their gourds to Damariscotta and Newcastle merchants for the annual celebration, so he decided to bring a “mini-Pumpkinfest to Boothbay Harbor.”

“Since there wasn’t going to be a Pumpkinfest, I thought maybe we could bring them here to display,” Gimbel said. “So I went to the weigh-in and made a deal to purchase some of the giant pumpkins and squash.”

They will be decorated and displayed at the following local merchants: Boat House Bistro, Footbridge Brewery, Gimbel and Sons Country Store, Harbor Mart, Janson’s, Mine Oyster, Shannon’s Unshelled, The Smiling Cow, Sweet Bay, Tugboat Inn, Windjammer Emporium, Pinkham’s Gourmet Market and Maria Boord Gallery. Local merchants paid a fee for the gourds and delivery. But there was one stipulation regarding the giant pumpkin purchased by the Gimbels. “I can’t keep the seeds. After Columbus Day, the grower is coming back to cut out the seeds,” Mark Gimbel said. In total, 13 local merchants participated in the promotion.

Among the  growers who produced these giant gourds are WGME meteorologist Charlie Lopresti and Richard Powell of Nobleboro, who grew this year’s largest pumpkin (1,511 pounds) and squash (1,290 pounds). Powell has grown the giant gourds for 10 years. His pumpkins and squash set Pumpkinfest records last year. In 2019, his pumpkin weighed over 1,700 pounds and his squash tipped the scales at over 1,500 pounds. “This could’ve been just as good for growing as last year, but fertilizer is expensive, and I didn’t think it was worth the extra effort without Pumpkinfest because there would be no one to purchase them,” Powell said. “No one makes any money doing this. We hope to sell them to defer the growing costs.”

Gimbel described the promotion in Boothbay Harbor as a one-time event. “I don’t envision bringing Pumpkinfest here. This is for one year only,” he said.