Pittsburgh Monster Pumpkins Festival

The Pittsburgh Monster Pumpkins Festival returns to The Stacks Courtyard in the Strip District on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 17-18. It's the festival's ninth year, and it's built around the kind of oversized, slightly absurd spectacles that make it a local draw. The main event is the 'punkin' dunkin' drop,' where 2,000-pound pumpkins are hoisted more than 200 feet in the air and released into a pool of water with an impact that literally shakes the ground. Beside that is the 'punkin' pull,' a race where people pull a pumpkin weighing over 1,500 pounds on a wheeled cart nearly 60 feet uphill for the fastest time. You'll also find massive sculptures carved from giant pumpkins by some of the top carvers in the field.

Presented by the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM), the weekend goes well beyond the big drops. There's a Costume Caper 5K run and walk, a squash-slinging giant slingshot, carriage rides pulled by Percheron horses, and glass-blowing demonstrations. Pie-eating contests and selfie stations are scattered throughout, and more than 80 craft, food, and drink vendors set up across the grounds. It's the kind of event that works as a full day out with kids or just a quick stop to watch a half-ton pumpkin smash into a pool.

The festival takes place at The Stacks Courtyard, part of the 3 Crossings campus in the Strip District, on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 17-18. Admission is free.