Were We Ever Surprised!

For three months we are Casa Grande Ruins National Monument in the town of Coolidge, Arizona, a town of a little more than 7,000 people. As we drive south and west of town, we pass the Wurtz Farm, which sells hay and gourds.



So, when we read they were holding a gourd festival at the Pinal County Fairgrounds about 10 miles from Coolidge, we decided to check it out. We didn't know what to expect, but we certainly saw much more than we had anticipated.

We entered the exhibition area of the fairgrounds under this neat sign.



We saw lots of cute festival decorations made out of gourds.







And huge baskets filled with about every shape of gourd imaginable.



Lots of people were lined up to view a juried show of decorated gourds. We didn't bother standing in the line.



We were amazed at the number of people attending the festival. In addition to the crowds of lookers and shoppers, there were vendors from all over the country.



There was a booth to teach about gourds.



Vendors selling the tools needed to work on gourds and lots of useful books for sale.







Gourds can be painted, carved, laced and decorated in so many ways I can't even describe them. At times, if I hadn't known we were at a gourd show, I would have thought I was looking at pottery. We took so many pictures, I made several into a movie, so you can appreciate the beauty and fun of what can be done with the humble gourd.

Gourd Festival