An autumn spectacle for the whole family, where colourful dino-sculptures form the backdrop, made with pumpkins from East Flanders. Also don't miss the weekend activities in the Castle Park of Grand-Bigard.
Open from
8 Sept till
5 Nov 2023
An autumn spectacle for the whole family, where colourful dino-sculptures form the backdrop, made with pumpkins from East Flanders. Also don't miss the weekend activities in the Castle Park of Grand-Bigard.
Pumpkins exist in over 800 varieties. They appear in different shapes, sizes and colors. The origin of the seeds can be found all over the world. With this large variety in colors and shapes, the Jucker Farm in Switzerland creates stunning pumpkin-art exhibitions based on different topics.
The impressive wooden and wired sculptures are decorated with thousands of colorful pumpkins which represent the shell of the art objects. Artists from the Jucker Farm compose the pumpkins in a way that creates astonishing views and selfie-points for the visitors of the event.
The topic 2023 in Grand-Bigard will be “Dinosaurs”. T-Rex, Triceratops, Diplodocus, Sauropelta, Parasaurolophus… can be linked to the big giants. Additionally, there will be lots of colorful pumpkins that will transform the park into an autumn-themed 'pumpkin land'.
Visitors will have a unique opportunity to learn all about the different species that exist, and buy rare pumpkins with a wide pallet of tastes and use – in example vegan spaghetti strings or pumpkin-fries with an amazing flavour of Marroni chestnuts. The fries will be sold at the exhibition in the beautiful castle park.
A tasty pumpkin soup during your walk cannot be missed. The different recipes and tastings will be offered during the exhibition.
Make sure you're there during the weekend, cause every Saturday and Sunday different activities will run on site, like Pumpkin-Boat-Regatta, Pumpkin-Weigh-Off, Pumpkin Carving or Pumpkin Slaughtery.
Practical
From 15 years: 14 EUR
Kids (from 4 years): 8 EUR
Subscription (from 15 years): 25 EUR
Subscription (from 4 years): 15 EUR
In the park of the castle Grand-Bigard (near Brussels)
Isidoor Van Beverenstraat 5 - 1702 Groot-Bijgaarden
8 Sept till 5 Nov 2023 (closed on Mondays and Tuesdays!)
From 11:00 tot 18:00
There are plenty of activities every weekend, click on the items below to find out more about them.
“Hubbard World” describes the type of the “Hubbard” pumpkins, which are perfect to carve cute dwarfs – complete with arms and legs. Prepare to have a laugh with their funny face impressions and body poses. The carved pumpkin art resembles very cute and friendly “Hubbards” in a similar style as the well-known 'Smurfs' from the Belgian creator Pierre Culiford.
Giant pumpkins appear every autumn and are grown by professional growers in Belgium. Pumpkins with a weight of about 250 kg are very suitable to hollow out and can be used as a Kayak with double paddle. The beautiful, situated moat-lake around the Castle is the perfect place to hold this extraordinary paddling competition. Drop by, watch the rowers give it their all and cheer them on. At the singles, there will be a competition for women, men, and pumpkin growers in their own grown pumpkins.
1191 kg was the weight of the world’s biggest pumpkin in the year of 2016. This world record pumpkin was grown by the Belgium grower Matthias Willemijns. In the Belgium village of Kasterlee, a lot of colossal pumpkins are grown every year. We are very happy to invite on 23 September all growers from Belgium and any other countries in the park of the Grand-Bigard castle to join the 'Brussels Open Pumpkin Weigh Off' to find out which will be the heaviest one.
The weighing of the giant pumpkins starts at 1pm.
On 24 September, the three biggest pumpkins will remain in the park to be admired by the visitors.
Prizes if the pumpkins stay in the park:
1st place: 1,000 euros
2nd place: 500 euros
3rd place: 400 euros
4th place: 350 euros
5th place: 300 euros
6th place: 250 Euros
7th place: 200 euros
8th place: EUR 150
9th place: 100 euros
10th place: 50 euros
Growers will get their seeds back by the end of the event.
Giant pumpkins appear every autumn and are grown by professional growers in Belgium. Pumpkins with a weight of about 250 kg are very suitable to hollow out and can be used as a kayak with double paddle. The beautiful, situated moat-lake around the Castle is the perfect place to hold this extraordinary paddling competition. Drop by, watch the rowers give it their all and cheer them on. At the “Teams Competition”, each team will compete in two races (at least two athletes per team) in two different pumpkins. The racers with the best time total advance to the next round. The winning team is decided in an exciting final race between the top rowers on the leaderboard.
Would you like to join with your friends or family? Send an email to info@pumpkimania.be with the name of the group, number of people and favourite day to participate. Saturday and Sunday the competition starts at 11am. The winning team gets a prize of 150 euros, second place 100 euros and third place 50 euros.
The price for winning the biggest pumpkins from the Brussels Open pumpkin weigh off can still be admired by the visitors, but other big pumpkins will get a chance to also have their moment of fame. Outstanding pumpkin artists drop by at the Giant Pumpkin Carving Festival and create beautiful art with the help of their knives and carving tools. As the carved art will become rotten after approximately one week, visitors are advised to schedule their visit in that weekend or in the first days of the following week to admire the beautifully carved giant pumpkins in their full glory.
You probably haven't seen a cooking pot this big in your entire life, 200 Liters of pumpkin soup is prepared on the spot to be sold to the visitors of the park. For each cup of soup that is sold, € 0.50 will be donated to welfare organizations in Brussels. In case all visitors together are able to clean out this huge pot over the weekend, the organizers double the amount of money that's donated. So come and indulge in a tasty and fresh bowl of pumpkin soup, help to empty the giant pot and support local charities!
During this event, there will be multiple competitions involving pumpkins. For example, pumpkin paddling, wheelbarrow race or pumpkin taste identification are some of the challenges. The participants need to partake in different disciplines to ultimately become a winner in the Multiple-Pumpkin-Competition. This challenge will put a crown on the heads of the real pumpkin queens and kings. The winners will be honored with nice small pumpkin surprises.
Just before Halloween, the organizers offer working stations and the necessary tools to carve out different kinds of Halloween-themed pumpkins, which can be bought at the venue. Everyone can take their own carved pumpkins back home to celebrate the spookiest time of the year.
The Giant Pumpkins Winners from the Brussels Open Weigh Off will be dissected by the growers to harvest their seeds for the next year. The visitors can see how these vegetable giants look on the inside, have a chance to get in touch with the grower and purchase some of their seeds. They'll also have the opportunity to ask questions and get some tips on how to become a successful grower themselves in the future. The fleshy insides of the giant pumpkins can be used to make pumpkin soup and will be given away for free – for as long as available.