At a pumpkin festival near Berlin, powerful women take shape — one gourd at a time

BEELITZ, Germany (AP) — The pumpkin is the undisputed star of the show at the Klaistow farm near Berlin.

Over 100,000 pumpkins in various shapes and colors are laid out across the farm and on shelves along its winding paths — 500 different varieties from around the world, each labeled with its name and origin.

The huge pumpkin festival on the farm 56 kilometers (35 miles) southwest of the German capital, which is now taking place for the 22nd time, has become so popular that it draws up to 12,000 visitors on weekend days and more than 5,000 on weekdays.

This year it features 15 larger-than-life pumpkin sculptures and many kinds of sweet and savory food offerings — all made with pumpkin.

The pumpkins hail from the farm's own pumpkin patches and from around the world.

The festival started in 2004 as more and more Germans were embracing the American tradition of Halloween. In just a few short years it became common for Germans to put carved pumpkins in their yards, for kids to go trick-or-treating and for young adults to revel in gory costumes at parties.

The theme of the first exhibition was how the pumpkin came to Europe, said Antje Winkelmann, who co-runs the family farm, saying it was “a great topic, as it came from America to Europe.”

“Christopher Columbus brought it with him, and we rebuilt the ship that Christopher Columbus sailed on and told the whole story," she said.

After exploring different topics over the past 21 years, this year is all about women's power.

“We had sports, we had ancient Rome, we had the Alps and mountains and the world of stars and planets. And now it really felt like it was time for women to be the topic," Winkelmann said.

They pored over lists of famous women, she said, and then chose a few "based on what would be easy to present, what would be appealing to the eye.”

Winners included Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, the beloved fictional Swedish book character Pippi Longstocking, and ancient Egypt’s Cleopatra — all of them, of course, created from colorful pumpkins.

“We realized there really were and are a lot of amazing women," Winkelmann said.

On a recent day, families explored the vast farm, strolling past a huge Marge Simpson, her hair made up of dozens of brown, round winter squash, her dress created with small orange pumpkins. Nearby was Elsa from the children's all-time favorite movie "Frozen," dressed in pale yellow pumpkins.

Bertha Benz, the famous German automotive pioneer, sat on an early model Mercedes, the wheels decorated with the same kind of orange winter squash as her long skirt.

Gesine Struppert, who visited the farm with her little daughter from the town of Wittenberg, said she was inspired to make new pumpkin dishes at home and was impressed by the sculptures.

“It’s pretty crazy,” she said.

For sale were 30 different kind of pumpkins, both edible and decorative, and many pumpkin delicacies.

“Of course, pumpkin is also on the menu," Winkelmann said. “We have stuffed pumpkin and chicken coated with pumpkin sauce. We have pumpkin tarte flambée, pumpkin crème brûlée, all kinds of things with pumpkin, so you can try them out. And in our bakery, of course, pumpkin is also in the spotlight, with pumpkin seeds, pumpkin seed bread, pumpkin cake, pumpkin cream slices.”

Fanny Brodersen contributed to this report.

A pumpkin sculpture depicting Mexican artist Frida Kahlo is displayed at Klaistow farm’s annual pumpkin festival, which this year celebrates “powerful women,” in Beelitz near Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Pumpkins are displayed for sale at Klaistow farm’s annual pumpkin festival, which this year celebrates “powerful women,” in Beelitz near Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

A pumpkin sculpture depicting Elsa and Olaf of the children's movie, "Frozen", is displayed at Klaistow farm’s annual pumpkin festival, which this year celebrates “powerful women,” in Beelitz near Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

A pumpkin sculpture depicting Cleopatra, is displayed at Klaistow farm’s annual pumpkin festival, which this year celebrates “powerful women,” in Beelitz near Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

A pumpkin sculpture depicting Bertha Benz, the famous German automotive pioneer, is displayed at Klaistow farm’s annual pumpkin festival, which this year celebrates “powerful women,” in Beelitz near Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

A pumpkin sculpture depicting fictional Swedish book character Pippi Longstocking, is displayed at Klaistow farm’s annual pumpkin festival, which this year celebrates “powerful women,” in Beelitz near Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Antje Winkelmann, who co-runs the Klaistow family, poses for a photo in Beelitz near Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

A pumpkin sculpture depicting Mexican artist Frida Kahlo is displayed at Klaistow farm’s annual pumpkin festival, which this year celebrates “powerful women,” in Beelitz near Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Strikes on cities across Iran have killed more than 25 people Sunday into Monday, while in Israel's Haifa two people were found dead and two others were missing in rubble a day after an Iranian attack.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday stepped up his threat to hit Iran's critical infrastructure hard if the country's government doesn’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his Tuesday deadline.

Trump punctuated his threat with profanity in a social media post, saying Tuesday will be “Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran.”

The war began with joint U.S.-Israel strikes on Feb. 28 and has killed thousands, shaken global markets, cut off key shipping routes and spiked fuel prices. Both sides have threatened and hit civilian targets, bringing warnings of possible war crimes from the United Nations and international law experts.

Here is the latest:

An Iranian drone attack damaged a telecommunications building in Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates on Monday, the state-run WAM news agency reported.

The attack targeted a building of the state-funded du telecom company.

No one was injured, WAM reported, quoting officials in Fujairah.

South Korea’s National Intelligence Service says there are no signs North Korea is providing Iran with weapons or other war-related supplies.

The spy agency’s officials told lawmakers Monday that North Korea may be taking a cautious approach to preserve the possibility of dialogue with the Trump administration, according to two lawmakers who attended the closed-door briefing.

North Korea’s Foreign Ministry has condemned the U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran as illegal, but the NIS said Pyongyang has not sent an official condolence message over the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s late supreme leader.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in recent years has embraced the idea of a “new Cold War” and attempted to expand cooperation with countries confronting the U.S., including an economic delegation sent to Iran in April 2024.

South Korea plans to send at least five ships to Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port in the coming weeks to establish new oil transport routes in the Red Sea.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources said Monday the ships will be deployed in phases beginning in mid-April and the number of vessels could increase depending on contracts with Saudi partners.

Officials did not disclose the companies involved but said some domestic refiners may use non-Korean shipping firms.

South Korea also plans to send special envoys to Saudi Arabia, Oman and Algeria to step up diplomatic efforts to secure alternative fuel supplies, ruling party lawmaker Ahn Do-geol said.

The foreign ministry did not immediately reveal when the envoys would be sent.

Iran has executed another man convicted over charges stemming from the nationwide protests that swept Iran in January.

The judiciary’s Mizan news agency identified the man hanged as Ali Fahim in a report Monday.

It was unclear when he was executed.

Fahim had been convicted of allegedly storming a military base to seize weapons.

Amnesty International said Fahim and others convicted in the case “were subjected to torture and other ill-treatment in detention, including beatings, floggings, prolonged solitary confinement, and death threats at gunpoint before being convicted in grossly unfair trials that relied on forced ‘confessions’ extracted under torture and lasted only a few hours.”

The Human Rights Activist News Agency had said Fahim and others had entered a Tehran base of the all-volunteer Basij militia, an arm of the Revolutionary Guard, after it had been burned, then had been forced into confessions.

Israel rescue services reported Monday morning several sites were hit by missiles launched from Iran toward multiple cities in the center of Israel.

In Petah Tikva, paramedics provided medical treatment to an injured woman in serious condition with a chest injury from shrapnel and evacuated her to the Beilinson Hospital.

Fire fighters in that city are handling cars on fire and continue searching to ensure there are no people trapped in the rubble.

In Tel Aviv, a man slightly injured by glass shrapnel was evacuated to the Ichilov Hospital.

Footage provided by rescue service Magen David Adom shows damage to residential buildings due to the attack.

Meanwhile, Israel’s military warned the public Monday morning of another missile barrage coming from Iran, the fourth-such alert of the day.

Israel’s Magen David Adom and Fire and Rescue services said early Monday that there are several reported sites of Iranian missile hits in the northern city of Haifa.

In one site, four people were slightly injured, including two children.

The missile attacks hit residential areas and a factory in the city.

The factory was hit by shrapnel from an interception.

It is unclear if all the reported hits were caused by shrapnel from interception or direct hits.

Video footage provided by Magen David Adom of the affected sites show active fire and bombed cars in what appears to be a residential area.

The missile strikes come a day after another attack from Iran also hit a Haifa residential area, killing two people and injuring others.

Two other people remain missing under the rubble caused by Sunday's strike and their fate is still unknown.

In the United Arab Emirates’ capital of Abu Dhabi, authorities said a Ghanaian man suffered wounds from shrapnel after the interception of an Iranian missile over the city’s Musaffah neighborhood.

That’s near Al Dhafra Air Base, which hosts U.S. forces and has been repeatedly targeted by Iran in the war.

Women hold Iranian flags during a pro-government gathering in a square in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A picture of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hangs on the side of the road in the outskirts of Tehran, Iran, early Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Rescue workers search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike that hit a crowded neighbourhood south of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

A commercial plane is preparing to land at Beirut Airport as smoke rises from Israeli airstrikes in Dahiyeh, a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Israeli security forces and rescue teams work amid the rubble of a residential building struck by an Iranian missile in Haifa, Israel, Sunday, April 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)