HALF MOON BAY, Calif. — Rocky, a 2,389-pound (1,083-kilogram) pumpkin, captured the top prize at Northern California’s major annual weigh-off. However, it was nowhere near the potential new world record established just days earlier in Rhode Island.
Travis Gienger, a horticulture teacher from Minnesota, transported the enormous pumpkin across the country and defeated dozens of growers in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco. The victory marked his fifth win and earned him $21,501.
Gienger missed last year’s competition after his pumpkin split while it was still growing. Determined to make a comeback, he named this year’s entry Rocky, after the iconic boxer portrayed by Sylvester Stallone.
“Five-time champion, that’s what we came here to do,” Gienger said after securing the win.
[h2]The race for the heaviest pumpkin is hot this year[/h2]A potential new world record was recorded Saturday in New England, where Ron Wallace of Greene, Rhode Island, entered a pumpkin weighing 3,156 pounds (1,431.5 kilograms). The massive squash was nearly as heavy as three concert grand pianos. Guinness World Records has not yet verified the result; its current listed record is a 2,857-pound (1,296-kilogram) pumpkin grown by Ian Paton of Lymington, England. That mark was set only a few days earlier.
“My hat’s off to him, that’s a big pumpkin,” Gienger said.
According to competition organizer Ronan Fowler, Gienger grows his giant pumpkins in a backyard patch in Anoka, a city along the Mississippi River north of Minneapolis. This season, temperatures dropped below freezing, prompting Gienger to say he may eventually need a climate-controlled growing space if he wants to compete at an even higher level.
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“The fact that Travis can weather the elements, like 30-degree weather, and still grow this massive pumpkin is pretty unbelievable,” Fowler said.
[h2]The California pumpkin weigh-off is in its sixth decade[/h2]Gienger and his family spent 35 hours driving to California, bringing along the pumpkin, which was roughly the size of a small car.
Hundreds of spectators attended the 53rd World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off, where food trucks, live music and pumpkin-themed humor filled the event. Earlier, the crowd cheered when Tinkerbell, a remarkably symmetrical pumpkin, won the prettiest-pumpkin contest.
The winning prize was based on a rate of $9 per pound, while Rocky will be featured in a parade through Half Moon Bay this weekend. Gienger also missed a $30,000 bonus reserved for a new world record.
Because these giant pumpkins are cultivated for size rather than taste, the festival ended without any oversized pumpkin pies.
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