Great Pumpkin Drop Weekend at Moulton Farm Oct. 22-23

MEREDITH — Moulton Farm's "Great Pumpkin Drop" is back, so get ready for a smashing good weekend of fun on Saturday, Oct. 22 and Sunday, Oct. 23.

"Our 9th annual 'Great Pumpkin Drop' happens at 4 p.m. on Sunday," says John Moulton, "but the fun starts long before the pumpkin drop with family fun activities all weekend."

On Saturday there will be pumpkin related games, free tractor rides to the pumpkin patch from noon to 4 p.m,. and a live magic show at 11 a.m. Miss Karen, from the Meredith Public Library, will be dressed in costume and reading Halloween stories starting at noon for children and the young at heart to enjoy. Music will also be in the air thanks to the father and son singing duo of Ben and Steve Kelley.

On Sunday the fun continues with Steve Roberts, a science teacher at Inter-Lakes Middle School, making learning fun by using science to explode pumpkins. Janet and Phil Sanguedolce of The Sweetbloods will perform at the farm from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

On both days other fun activities will include free tractor rides from noon until 4 p.m., pumpkin related games, food sampling, and the opportunity to get creative using the farm's pumpkin decorating stand. The farm's corn maze, as well as the popular Cider Bellies stand, will also be open.

The title event of the weekend happens at 4 p.m. on Sunday with the help of a crane from East Coast Foundation. "There's no doubt that it will be an earth shaking event," says Moulton with a grin. "When hundreds of pumpkins fall from about eight stories up, it makes noise, the ground shakes, and pumpkins will smash." The pumpkins used in the event are ornamental pumpkins from the farm's fields that didn't meet the farm's quality standards. "After the event, the smashed pumpkins are fed to livestock, so it's not just humans that enjoy the event," says Moulton.