iStockphoto / Jun Zhang
The United States of America is #1 in the world at Halloween. This isn’t up for debate, it’s a fact. For proof, look no further than below at the footage from the 2024 Damariscotta Pumpkinfest in Maine where the Pumpkin Drop, which hasn’t take place since 2020, is back in full force and they drop a 1,000-pound pumpkin on top of a Mercury Sable.
This annual event, the Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta, was held earlier this month in Damariscotta, Maine. It’s a gorgeous event sitting near the Damariscotta River and since the pandemic in 2020, they hadn’t done the pumpkin drop from 200ft on top of a car but this year they brought it back and all is well in the universe.
And while the event was earlier this month, footage from the event has just started going viral. Once the world has seen what a 1,000-pound pumpkin falling on a Mercury Sable looks like they simply cannot get enough of it:
For those wondering, the Mercury Sable has been out of production since 2009. I came across that clip via TheDrive so felt the need to look up some info on the car… It was once an extremely common model on the road but they’re all 15+ years old at this point so it’s not as if they smashed a spring chicken out there.
While for many the car smash / pumpkin drop is the highlight of the annual Damariscotta Pumpkinfest & Regatta, there are all sorts of events. There is a derby for the kids. A paddling regatta for adults. Pumpkin competitions. And plenty of other events (Damariscotta is the oyster capital of New England, after all) but the car smash is a reminder that the USA rules above the rest of the world when it comes to Halloween and Fall in general.
Sure, Oktoberfest is cute with the dirndls and the stein holding competitions. Everyone loves a good pretzel. But they aren’t smashing cars with kegs. They aren’t taking things to the next level like we are here in the states.
For historical context, here are the pumpkin drops in years past with massive pumpkins being loosed from cranes to destroy cars as the crowd goes wild:
Going back even further, they would fire 10-pound pumpkins from a cannon at trucks:
In your head right now you’re chanting “USA!! USA!! USA!! USA!!” I know it.