MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Smash a pumpkin, win a prize! Come on over to the Portsmouth Farmers' Market this Saturday any time between 8am and 1pm and choose your weapon. “Swing away,” invites Trevor Bartlett, one of the event's organizers. For $5, a smasher may select a gourd and choose from an arsenal of smashing implements: a shovel; a baseball bat; a small sledge hammer; an enormous wooden mallet. (Continued below)

If they can manage to splat pumpkin guts onto the tarp in one swing, smashers can choose one of anything from the prize table.

All the proceeds go to fund the Portsmouth Halloween Parade, says Abigail Wiggin, Farm Manager at Stratham's Wake Robin Farm. Wiggin is one of a number of Seacoast Growers Association members supporting the Pumpkin Smash by hosting it during the Portsmouth Farmers' Market. 

Wake Robin Farm, Barker's Farm, and Applecrest Farm Orchard are all donating pumpkins to the Smash. And what about the carnage?

“Sugarmommas takes most of the demised squash home to feed their pigs,” explains Wiggin. “The rest we compost at the farm.”

Of course, you can load up on tasty pumpkin treats from the market to ensure you're fully powered for that smashing swing! Forty-Five Market Street Bakery and Cafe will have delicious pumpkin whoopie pies at their market booth, and Applecrest will feature pumpkin bread and pumpkin hermits, along with their carving and sugar pumpkins. These are just a few of the many delightful seasonal offerings that will be available to farmers' market patrons on Saturday.

As for the smashers, “we're also hoping to have a fantastic raffle basket of market goodies,” Wiggin predicts.

Smashers of all ages are welcome, says Bartlett, who sneaks in this little insider secret:  consolation prizes often find their way into the hands of the smaller smashers, who might not have yet developed the upper body strength for a fair chance.

The Pumpkin Smash has a rain date of Oct. 29th. For more information, visit Seacoast Growers Association online at www.seacoastgrowers.org.

The Portsmouth Farmers' Market is one of five seacoast farmers' markets brought to you by the Seacoast Growers Association: all local, all the time, since 1977.