At a pumpkin festival near Berlin, powerful women take shape – one gourd at a time

A pumpkin sculpture depicting Mexican artist Frida Kahlo is displayed at Klaistow farm’s annual pumpkin festival, near Berlin

The pumpkin is the undisputed star of the show at the Klaistow farm near Berlin.

Over 100,000 pumpkins in various shapes and colors are laid out across the farm and on shelves along its winding paths — 500 different varieties from around the world, each labeled with its name and origin.

The huge pumpkin festival on the farm 56 kilometers southwest of the German capital, which is now taking place for the 22nd time, has become so popular that it draws up to 12,000 visitors on weekend days and more than 5,000 on weekdays.

This year it features 15 larger-than-life pumpkin sculptures and many kinds of sweet and savory food offerings — all made with pumpkin.

The pumpkins hail from the farm’s own pumpkin patches and from around the world.

The festival started in 2004 as more and more Germans were embracing the American tradition of Halloween. In just a few short years it became common for Germans to put carved pumpkins in their yards, for kids to go trick-or-treating and for young adults to revel in gory costumes at parties.

The theme of the first exhibition was how the pumpkin came to Europe, said Antje Winkelmann, who co-runs the family farm, saying it was “a great topic, as it came from America to Europe.”

“Christopher Columbus brought it with him, and we rebuilt the ship that Christopher Columbus sailed on and told the whole story,” she said.

After exploring different topics over the past 21 years, this year is all about women’s power.

“We had sports, we had ancient Rome, we had the Alps and mountains and the world of stars and planets. And now it really felt like it was time for women to be the topic,” Winkelmann said.

They pored over lists of famous women, she said, and then chose a few “based on what would be easy to present, what would be appealing to the eye.”

Winners included Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, the beloved fictional Swedish book character Pippi Longstocking, and ancient Egypt’s Cleopatra — all of them, of course, created from colorful pumpkins.

“We realized there really were and are a lot of amazing women,” Winkelmann said.

On a recent day, families explored the vast farm, strolling past a huge Marge Simpson, her hair made up of dozens of brown, round winter squash, her dress created with small orange pumpkins. Nearby was Elsa from the children’s all-time favorite movie “Frozen,” dressed in pale yellow pumpkins.

Bertha Benz, the famous German automotive pioneer, sat on an early model Mercedes, the wheels decorated with the same kind of orange winter squash as her long skirt.

Gesine Struppert, who visited the farm with her little daughter from the town of Wittenberg, said she was inspired to make new pumpkin dishes at home and was impressed by the sculptures.

“It’s pretty crazy,” she said.

For sale were 30 different kind of pumpkins, both edible and decorative, and many pumpkin delicacies.

“Of course, pumpkin is also on the menu,” Winkelmann said. KIRSTEN GRIESHABER, BEELITZ, MDT/AP