Circleville Pumpkin Show in Ohio takes place on 20-23 October

The Circleville Pumpkin Show is a huge event in Ohio's autumn calendar. The event dates back to 1903, when a small exhibit of corn and pumpkins made way for the more elaborate pumpkin show in later years. The idea of the Circleville Pumpkin show is to promote local agriculture and to welcome visitors into the community, which it does very well.

Today, the Circleville Pumpkin Show attracts around 300,000 people, and some truly massive pumpkins! During the show the streets are filled by the bright orange orbs of pumpkins - a feast for the eyes.

Every year pumpkin growers enter a competition to find the show's heaviest pumpkin. Last year, a Circleville Pumkin Show record was broken by a giant of a pumpkin that weighed in at a whopping 1,635 pounds, which wasn't far off the record for the world's heaviest pumpkin. The winning vegetable was fondly named Queen BES, and grown by Bob Liggett, a pumpkin fanatic that has won the competition on many occasions.

The four day event combines parades, dance shows, pumpkin sculpting and even a pumpkin pie eating competition. And in true American style, there's a Miss Pumpkin and Little Miss Pumpkin contest. There's also a pet parade - you might spot one or two pumpkin pooches!

The stars of the show (the pumpkins) are so huge that hefty machinery is brought in to lift them onto special weighing scales.

Circleville is located just south of Columbus in Ohio. If you plan to attend the event, don't forget that there is now a 14 dollar visa fee that must be paid by all British nationals on entering the USA.

Also, Halloween isn't far off, so you can enjoy some of the spectacular Halloween displays that American's love to indulge in.

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