Circleville

For most of the year, James River is a local dentist in Circleville, a small Ohio town.

Smashing Event: In This Small Town, Pumpkins Are a Big Deal Clare Ansberry 2011

Steven Wood Schmader, president of the Boise-based International Festivals and Events Association, says the Circleville Show has a good reputation and one of its promoters was inducted into the association's Hall of Fame.

Smashing Event: In This Small Town, Pumpkins Are a Big Deal Clare Ansberry 2011

It was incorporated in 1946 as the nonprofit Circleville Pumpkin Show Inc. Article three of its constitution stipulates the show benefit locals, which is why contestants for all competitions, from top gourd display to best white radishes, must live within a 21-mile radius of Circleville.

Smashing Event: In This Small Town, Pumpkins Are a Big Deal Clare Ansberry 2011

Jack Mader Robert Liggett and his wife, Jo, pose behind their award-winning pumpkin at the 2010 Circleville Pumpkin Show.

Smashing Event: In This Small Town, Pumpkins Are a Big Deal Clare Ansberry 2011

He and Nancy Martin started the club years ago to make sure Circleville always had big pumpkins.

Smashing Event: In This Small Town, Pumpkins Are a Big Deal Clare Ansberry 2011

Last year's winner, Robert Liggett, a local optometrist and co-founder of the Circleville Giant Pumpkin Growers, received $1,000 and a trophy for his 1,622-pound entry.

Smashing Event: In This Small Town, Pumpkins Are a Big Deal Clare Ansberry 2011

According to this WKKJ News story, Rob McCarley of Circleville, Ohio, paid $12,500 to shoot a hunting-preserve trophy buck with a rifle, and then tried to pass it off as a free-range deer at a check station, saying he killed it with a longbow.

Ohio Man Busted With Canned Deer 2009

For Circleville, population 14,000, it's the biggest event of the year.

Smashing Event: In This Small Town, Pumpkins Are a Big Deal Clare Ansberry 2011

Circleville officials estimate the show can bring in 400,000 visitors over four days, assuming good weather and the occasional appearance of the Ohio State band.

Smashing Event: In This Small Town, Pumpkins Are a Big Deal Clare Ansberry 2011

Things did not go well in Circleville for the Parkers, and his dad lost land to another homesteader in a property rights dispute;

History of Butch Cassidy 2009