There was no frost on the vine, no bite in the breeze in Kapolei yesterday — but thousands turned out nevertheless to celebrate a seasonal ritual, the autumn pumpkin harvest.

Paul and Katelynn Stream waited until the cool of the early evening before bringing 15-month-old Isabella out to Aloun Farms.

"We wanted to avoid the beating sun," Katelynn said, as Isabella sat happily for a photo surrounded by large pumpkins.

Having your image preserved with a large pumpkin seems to be much like the opportunity to pose with a big fish. Most people find it irresistible.

"Both grandmas have been asking for pumpkin pictures," Katelynn said.

The Streams are from Iowa, and Paul, who recently returned from a year in Iraq, is stationed at Schofield. It was Isabella's first pumpkin hunt. Katelynn was sure it would have been a very chilly affair in the Hawkeye State, where it has been snowy for weeks.

"Wipe off her nose, Paul," Katelynn said as she aimed the camera.

Isabella smiled with her entire face.

"She likes pumpkins," Katelynn said. "She wants to take them all home."

So the afternoon trip was sort of a cultural ritual for the Streams? A little slice of the Midwest in Hawaii?

"Yes," Paul said, "Bella liked the pig at the petting zoo. Pigs, pumpkins and corn."

Isabella will have a little brother or sister in February.

"It's an R&R baby," Katelynn said. "Paul got to come home during the Iraq tour."

Yesterday's event benefitted the Hawaii Foodbank; anyone who donated a food item got a free hayride. Mike Kajiwara of the Foodbank said about 3,000 people attended yesterday. He said Aloun Farms is a major donor to the Foodbank, supplying it with about 300,000 pounds of produce a year.

Aside from the petting zoo and the hayride, there was a pony ride and other attractions.

Children sat on pumpkins blowing bubbles, traipsed through the seven acres of fields in search of the perfect pumpkin, picked corn, and trudged after their mothers complaining loudly because their strollers were being used to ferry pumpkins.

Jacqueline Canos of Kahaluu tried to keep track of her party of eight.

Her daughter Rodelle and Rodelle's friend Nizhoni Faris were keeping an eye on Espresso, Jacqueline's pet bunny. Small pumpkin hunters kept stopping by to pet Espresso.

Nizhoni opined that the secret to picking a good pumpkin was to find one that wasn't flat and full of bugs.

Charley Lau, 6, who was hunting "the world's largest pumpkin" with her friend Karl Robert Boland (known as K.R.) and his uncle and aunt, Ray and Jackie Boland from Kaneohe, said that she also liked "butterflies and pumpkin pie. I think I ate it when I was a baby," she said.

Charley and K.R. planned to make jack-o'-lanterns and disguise themselves as a witch and Darth Vader for Halloween.

And then there was young Haokea Kekahuna, who showed up with Darren and Rosalia Steinhoff of Mililani.

Haokea had thoroughly enjoyed the hayride and planned to find a great white pumpkin.

After all, nearly anybody can find an orange one.