When people visit their local family-owned pumpkin patch around Halloween, they aren’t usually looking for dinner. The majority of the nearly 2 billion pounds of pumpkins grown in the US each year are carved（雕刻）up instead of being eaten, making them a unique part of the agriculture industry. For people who prefer seasonal recipes to decorations, that may raise a few questions: Are the pumpkins sold for jack-o’-lanterns different from pumpkins sold as food? And are Halloween pumpkins any good to eat?

Carving pumpkins, often with a round shape and deep orange color, don’t taste very good, because they are bred to be decorations first. They have walls that are thin enough to stick a knife through and a texture (质地) that’s unappealing compared to the ones consumers are used to eating. “Uncut carving pumpkins are safe to eat; however, it’s not the best type to use for cooking,” Daria McKelvey, a supervisor for the Kemper Center for Home Gardening at the Missouri Botanical Garden, tells Mental Floss. Unlike decorative pumpkins, cooking pumpkins are small and dense (紧实的). This is one reason they taste better. McKelvey says. “Cooking pumpkins are smaller, sweeter, and have fewer fibers, making them easier to cook with—but not so good for carving.” These pumpkins can be added into soup, or simply roasted.

If you do want to get some use out of your carving pumpkins this Halloween, turn the flesh of your Halloween pumpkin into purée. Adding sugar and spices and baking it into a dessert can do a lot to mask the fruit’s underwhelming flavor(味道). Whatever you do, make sure your pumpkin isn’t carved up already when you decide to cook with it. Never use one that’s been carved into a jack-o’-lantern, otherwise you could be dealing with bacteria, dirt and dust.

National Potato Day was back on Friday 23rd August 2013. Along with BordBia (Irish Food Board) and many other potato growers in Ireland, Keogh’s Farm brought you a day that was all about potatoes and showing love for our national vegetable.

Keogh’s invited the public to Spud Fest, which took place on Dublin’s South King Street from 12 pm to 4 pm. This festival brought the farm to the city with potato performers, face painters, balloon modeling, music, tastings and plenty of other festival fun to celebrate the most delicious day of the year. There were lots of potatoes, of course.

Keogh’s along with the support of BordBia called on everyone to enjoy at least one potato on National Potato Day. Potatoes are naturally low in fat, a great source of vitamins and minerals and are a great way to support local Irish homegrown produce and businesses.

Tom Keogh, General Manager of Keogh’s Farm said, “We can’t believe we were getting ready for our third year of National Potato Day. When we dreamt the idea up in 2011, we had no idea it would attract so many people. Since the first National Potato Day we have received nothing but interest in potatoes at home and all over the world.

“Ireland is now recognized as one of the finest producers of top quality vegetables, with the potato leading the field. We are happy that BordBia have joined us this year to bring all our fellow potato producers together and join forces to promote (提升) the enjoyment of the potato. We are hoping National Potato Day is a day to encourage everyone to love potatoes!”

UNI’s Northern Festival of Bands

The Northern Festival of Bands is a yearly weekend band festival for high school band students, who perform in bands led by nationally famous conductors. They will take masterclasses with University of Northern Iowa (UNI) students, give performances and enjoy performances given by UNI’s great bands. In 2021, the festival is still scheduled to be held in February.

● Application

The Northern Festival of Bands offers three festival bands: Wind Orchestra, Symphony Band, and Concert Band. Students are selected on the basis of the application forms provided by each school and director. In some cases a student may wish to attend even if their school isn’t attending. In these cases, the application must still be made by the high school band director. All applications should be provided by December 2, 2019 on our website.

● Auditions (试演)

Students accepted into the festival bands will audition between 4:00 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. on February 13.

● Concert Dress

Performance dress will be the dress normally worn by each school for performances.

● Solo (独奏) Competition

Students accepted into the festival are welcome to audition for the Solo Competition. The winner will perform at the final festival concert on Saturday afternoon and receive an award of $6,000.00 over a four-year period. The award is limited to students who wish to take a music degree at UNI.

If you need further information, please get in touch with Danny Galyen at danny.galyen@uni.edu!