The Pumpkin Festival, organized by the local Pro Loco association, takes place every year in Salzano for two weeks between October and November. This festival, which occupies a covered area of 5,000 square meters, has established itself as one of the most important autumn events in the Terra dei Tiepolo area. It seeks to revive and promote the culture, traditions, and gastronomy of the area through a variety of activities: an exhibition of local crafts, regional food tours, involvement of children through schools and families, gastronomy with tastings of quality products, and finally, competitions for the best pumpkins. These competitions have now become a well-established attraction and focus on the characteristics of this product: its color, weight, and unusual shapes, which can be used to create “pictures” that attract curiosity and sympathy. It is an appealing approach to a humble vegetable that has made a name for itself in this area thanks to its beauty and simplicity.
At this festival, one of the most important pumpkin festivals in Italy, gastronomy undoubtedly reigns supreme, thanks to a huge, well-equipped stand that can seat over 1,700 people and where you can enjoy a full menu based on this precious vegetable: from first courses such as risotto, ravioli, and gnocchi, to desserts with cookies, pastries, and cakes.
Thus, this event celebrates not only a local product, but the territory in its entirety, thanks to the exhibition of artisanal and agri-food products, workshops on pumpkin carving, and above all, the real highlight of the festival: the pumpkin contests. In this fun competition, prizes are awarded for different categories of pumpkins, including the smallest, the longest, the heaviest, and so on, in a series of awards and celebrations full of joy. There is also plenty of entertainment, starting with music and dancing and continuing with a series of shows ranging from a wide variety of performances to cabaret shows. For the little ones, the festival also includes celebrations on Halloween night, the day when pumpkins take center stage worldwide.
The variety of initiatives has made this event not only the most eagerly awaited of the year in Salzano, but also one of the main and longest-running autumn events in the area.
