The Circleville Pumpkin Show is an annual festival held in Circleville, Ohio, about south of the state capital of Columbus. The festival, which is held to celebrate local agriculture, is headed up by the Circleville Pumpkin Show Corporation. Considered to be the biggest festival in the United States dedicated to the pumpkin, it is billed as The Greatest Free Show On Earth. Attendance has topped 400,000 for the four-day event, which is free to enter. Dates The Pumpkin Show begins on the third Wednesday of October and lasts until the following Saturday. In recent years, a Tuesday preview night "for locals" has been introduced, adding an unofficial half day to the event. Locations Starting on the Sunday before the festival, work begins to restrict traffic in downtown Circleville. The restricted areas dedicated to the show are from South Scioto Street on the west to Pickaway Street on the east, and Watt/Pinckney Street on the north to Franklin Street on the south. More than 12 blocks are restricted by this event, which causes massive detours throughout a major portion of the city, including State Route 56 and U.S. Route 22. Because there is no organized parking system, many small businesses, individuals, and non-profit organizations provide parking for varying fees. History In October 1903, Mayor George R. Haswell decided to hold a small pumpkin-and-corn exhibit in front of his store to celebrate the local harvest. This small exhibit featured corn, carved pumpkins and other harvest-themed displays. Because of the prominence of pumpkins in this first exhibit, the name "The Pumpkin Show" was then coined. In the following years local merchants were attracted to improve the size, scope and attendance of the festival. By 1905, the first ride was installed. Soon after, with the success of the shows, an annual festival was organized to be held on the city streets to attract merchants, patrons and improve the quality of the festival. The Pumpkin Show has been held annually since 1903. Despite it still being held during the influenza outbreaks of 1918–1919, the Pumpkin Show was silenced for one year during World War I, two years during World War II, and in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Pumpkin Show became the sixth largest festival in the United States by 2007, attracting more than 300,000 people to the city every year. Traditions Every Pumpkin Show officially kicks off with the weigh-in of large