Belgium

In a truly unique and fun event in the Belgium town of Kasterlee in Antwerp, people paddled in pumpkin boats dressed as pirates, animals and vegetables. The annual competition of the pumpkin boat race is known as the pumpkin regatta. People compete with each other in kayaking in their large hollowed-out pumpkin boats.

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"Every year we start small pumpkins and every year we get from the bigger pumpkins the seeds and mix them to make every year bigger and bigger pumpkins. This year we have pumpkins of more than 1000 kilos," explains Gert Peeters, the organiser and pumpkin patch owner.

Watch | Belgian town hosts its annual Pumpkin Boat Race

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Pumpkin regatta: Unique Belgian boat race 

The race in Kasterlee started in 2008 after local growers decided they needed to find a different use for their 400-plus kg (880-pound) pumpkins besides turning them into soup. It then grew in popularity, said local Pumpkin Society chairman Paul Boonen.

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Racing in a hollowed-out pumpkin is no joke, and takes some skill.  As per a local competitor, when you try to paddle, the pumpkin doesn’t move forward but starts spinning. Also, the pumpkin in which the kayaker is sitting is quite sticky and oily, which requires patience. The annual race is conducted every year in the month of October.

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A similar kind of water race is held in Canada, called the Windsor Pumpkin Regatta. It is held on Lake Pesaquid in Windsor, Nova Scotia. It was founded in 1999 by Danny Dill, son of Howard Dill, breeder of the Atlantic Giant pumpkin. 

Another pumpkin regatta famous in the United States is held at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and on Lake Champlain in Vermont.

(With inputs from agencies)

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