Italy Meets the Barnesville Pumpkin Festival
The Barnesville Pumpkin Festival, a tradition loved by area residents, reaches people worldwide, including a couple from Italy who joined the festival Friday evening.
Italy natives Riccardo Zanini and Marta Raffaello, who are key contributors at Pietro Fiorentini in Weirton, WV, traveled to the Barnesville Pumpkin Festival for an evening.
The pair tried new foods, enjoying a Philly cheesesteak, mini vanilla and pumpkin donuts, sweet tea and deep fried Oreos. The mini donuts took the prize as the couple’s favorite dessert, with Zanini describing them as “sweet but not too much.”
Raffaello loved the small feel of the festival.
“I love all the crafts tables,” Raffaello said, “and the morale of it.”
The two also loved seeing the King Pumpkin, taking guesses on how big the winner was.
“The pumpkin was something incredible …,” Zanini said. “How is it possible they grow this big?”
The Pumpkin Festival reminded the pair of Sagra, which is a local festival and celebration in Italy.
The festival excited Raffaello for more American traditions, such as visiting corn mazes and pumpkin patches and experiencing haunted houses.
Walking along the sidewalk, Raffaello enjoyed the fall decorations on the houses, describing them as “beautiful.”
The pair recommend other people who have never been to the Pumpkin Festival before to visit and see what it has to offer. The couple plans to visit again next year.
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