It isn’t bro’s fault that capitalism ruined the joy of the fall harvest activities. The store feels bereft of life and joy because it is. The pumpkin patch has been commodified because the farmers need to get every dollar they can to compete against the capital of larger farms.
Bro just wanted to partake in his local community and enjoy the changing seasons. Even if it’s not as good, you’ll make memories at the pumpkin patch.
The store is just a store.
Yeah. Who buys a pumpkin for it’s literal value as a food item? There’s canned pumpkin for that. Anything to do with buying a whole pumpkin is all about maintaining an experience and tradition. In that view, pumpkin carving a storebought pumpkin is the base experience, and going to the pumpkin patch is the extended experience. People can choose the level that matches their enthusiasm for fall festivities. Neither purchases are practical, but both can be worthwhile.
I don’t see this as much different as the buying a CD vs concert ticket mockery. Concert tickets are always economically an impractical purchase vs buying a copy. People don’t go to concerts to get a good deal, and there’s just as much crap to deal with as the muddy parking lot and unsocialized animals of a pumpkin patch. People go to concerts for a specific experience that brings them joy and forms memories. Mocking that desire is silly.
A great and timely reminder for all that canned pumpkin is literally just as good as fresh.
I’ve personally tested it in 3 dishes, pie, cheesecake and soup, and my friends and family couldn’t tell the difference between canned and fresh.
I cooked a whole pumpkin once.
I’ll never do that again while pureed canned pumpkin exists.
As someone living in a normal country where people actually buy and eat pumpkins, the whole concept of buying a food item to destroy for decoration is absolutely alien. I’m glad we don’t have that weird tradition here.
The jack o’ lanterns are composted in the garden if the squirrels and deer don’t get them first. The seeds are roasted for a snack. The guts or whatever you want to call the slimy insides are fed to the ducks. Ain’t nothing wasted.
May I ask what country?
I’ve seen jack-o’-lanterns in the UK, US, Germany and France, but I haven’t travelled to most of the world and it’s hard to get reliable info about what holidays are celebrated in different countries and how people decorate
Portugal. When I was a kid in school the concept of Halloween as a party was being pushed onto us from by english lessons so the school had some events related to it, like decorating stuff and creating the vibe a little, but it just isn’t a thing. Nowadays I guess it’s more usual to start seeing a bit more things related to it in a few places, like some cool coffee shop or some special cakes in pastries shops, and some events in the big cities, but I guess that’s it. The biggest things may be advertisement around it and some events outside more focused on kids to play around with the theme. We have in some parts of the country a tradition around the same time which is similar to treat-or-trick, but no dressing up or those kinds of things.
I searched a bit and this seems a solid answer - https://www.portugalist.com/portugal-halloween/
Anyways, pumpkin is used for food regularly by many people here. Maybe not core ingredient, but some soups and other things use it.
The local guy that puts on the pumpkin fest is not hard up, in the slightest. I suspect he’s the biggest peanut farmer anywhere near here.
Of course they making fat money on the deal, or so I assume. They sure hire a lot of kids to run everything though. OTOH, they sell shitloads of peanuts barely under retail prices.
I hadn’t considered it this way
Go to a farm. Take a hay ride. Wander through the pumpkin patch with your friends and loved ones. Ponder what you’ll carve as you pick the perfect shape to match. Laugh at the oddly shaped gourds. Take some freshly pressed cider home with you and enjoy it cold, mulled with spices, spiked or any combination of those as you carve the pumpkin.
These events mark the time of year and form memories with those you share them with. This is culture.
read this in anthony bourdain’s voice
Realtalk, we have one just outside of town. Its not a bad experience just more effort and time than I want to put up with now that I’m on my own for a jack-o-lanturn. I have decorations and participate in candy handouts, but I usually forgot the pumpkin. Apartment living in the US means nothing to do with it as it gets soggy after 9 days.
The new other half wants to go though so I just might end up doing hay rides this year haha.
I have more memories of going to independent farms doing their autumn pumpkin patch activities than I do any of the pumpkins I’ve carved.
I found a little cart by a farm in the middle of nowhere with a load of pumpkins on it for $1. Best thing I’ve spent $1 on all year.
Naw, any of the ones I’ve ever went to were fairly enjoyable. Then again, they weren’t run by giant megacorps, so that definitely helped.
Edit: I presume they weren’t megacorp controlled, at least. I don’t recall them being in the small farms in my area.
Pumpkin patches may not be for you
Too accurate
My pumpkin patch has free rides back and forth, a big ass pneumatic gun you can fire, and it’s rarely overly crowded 🤷♂️
My kid absolutely loves it and I’m sure will have a memory or two
Please Bro … let’s just go for a few hours … maybe a few days … the farmer is thinking of selling … we could buy the farm and do this all the time … please bro … just this one time
