Saturday is the big day of Armstrong’s Harvest Pumpkin Festival.
Family Day runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 10 at the Armstrong Spallumcheen Fairgrounds, with free admission and a schedule that ranges from giant pumpkins to blacksmithing to people-powered pumpkin artillery.
The Great Pumpkin Weigh-In accepts entries from 9 to 11 a.m., with the winner announced at 11.
Then things become less stationary.
Trials for the Great Pumpkin Launch begin at noon, with competition launches starting at 1 p.m.
Teams use people-powered catapults, slingshots or trebuchets to send pumpkins toward a target. Adult and youth teams compete separately for distance and accuracy.
For people less interested in launching produce across a field, Family Day also includes science activities, the Moo-Bile Dairy Classroom, woodcarving and blacksmithing demonstrations, children’s art activities, wetland education, square dancing, live entertainment, vendors and artisans.
The Harvest Pumpkin Festival itself runs through Oct. 12 and is marking its 26th edition this year.
Family Day remains the centrepiece.
And if somebody builds a machine whose only job is to throw a pumpkin farther than the next machine, it deserves an audience.