Records broken at giant pumpkin weigh-off and drop

WORLAND — Records were set before a record crowd at Saturday’s 11th annual Wyoming Championship Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off.

The giant pumpkin weigh-off started at Lungren’s Pumpkin Patch and moved to the Washakie Farmers Market, then to Big Horn Coop and has landed a home the past three years at Diesel Pickup Specialists along 10th Street.

Jay Richard, one of the organizers and members of Wyo Giants, said his first giant pumpkin weighed 55 pounds. On Saturday, his pumpkin Blanche came in at 1,153 pounds, good for second place.

First place went to Ron Hoffman of Riverton with a personal record of 1,410 pounds. Hoffman or Richard have won the contest the past several years.

There were 16 entries this year. Cash prizes was awarded to the top 10. Weights ranged from Hoffman’s 1,410 to 58 pounds

The Wyoming State Championship is a Great Pumpkin Commonwealth sanctioned event. Other sanctioned fruits that won awards were Milli Sheldon with her 24-pound gourd and Dawson Utterback with his 51-pound watermelon. Utterback broke the state record that he set last year.

Richard said he would love to see more gourds and watermelons next year.

While not a sanctioned event, Wyo Giants added a zucchini weigh-off this year for the Worland event. There were 11 entries with Grady and Joely Reid taking home first-place with their 14-pound large zucchini.

Richard said the weigh-off is growing every year, thanks in part to the event growing each year and also to the giant pumpkin growing class he conducts each spring.

He said he provides free seeds to the students on the condition that whatever size pumpkin they grow they must enter in the weigh-off.

One such student was Erin Blutt, who brought her 240-pound pumpkin to the weigh-off from the seeds she received from Richard earlier this year.

He said giant pumpkin seeds are valuable and can range in the hundreds or thousands of dollars. There is also money in the pumpkins themselves. Richard noted that he was offered $1,600 for his pumpkin Sophia, that took second at a competition last month in Utah with a weight of 1,165 pounds.

While he is not in it for the money, he said it was hard to turn down.

Sophia may end up being the pumpkin that is carved by Ryan Green. Green has carved one of the giant pumpkins each year, making his masterpiece in front of Blair’s.

Richard said Green has a choice of Sophia or Rose, after Rose makes her trip to Colorado this weekend for judging.

THE DROP

Blanche, who took second Saturday, was one of three giant pumpkins that were dropped from a large crane. Blanche’s target, a piano donated by The Other Store.

Two other pumpkins, one donated by Ron Hoffman, and one by Chad Kurtenbach of Lovell, were dropped on cars donated by Marcus Beall of Beall Auto Body. Richard said Beall usually comes up with the items to get bombed by the giant pumpkins. “He’s my drop zone guy,” Richard said.

The pumpkin drop was added to the event when it moved to Coop from the Farmers Market about six years ago, Richard said.

He said there was a record crowd gathered around DPS on Saturday to watch the drop, estimating about 700 people.

Richard said as popular as the pumpkin drop is, he is concerned that in future years there may not be any pumpkins to drop. Traditionally he has grown three and used one of them at the drop. Hoffman donated one that split this year and Kurtenbach also donated one. However, next year he is changing his growing pattern and only plans to grow two, which would not leave one to donate to the drop.

Richard noted that the state record this year was set by a Cheyenne grower who weighed in at an Aurora, Colorado competition last Saturday. Andy and Amy Corbin set the record with a 1,854-pound giant pumpkin.

“I want to be the first to reach 2,000 pounds but he is getting close,” Richard said. He noted that Rose, which heads to Fort Collins this week and is still growing in his pumpkin patch, was grown using some of Corbin’s seeds.

He added that the pumpkin drop would not be possible at all without Swing Trucking donating the use of their crane and the employees to operate the crane. “Those guys are phenomenal. The whole thing hinges on their donation.”

TAKES A VILLAGE

Richard said an event like Saturday’s could not happen without a lot of volunteers. He said Mykell and Amy Baugh and their DPS employees work on setting up the site for the event and help with getting vendors.

The Worland Community Enrichment Committee also helped with vendors and set up the pumpkin tasting contest and the history hayride with presenter John Davis.

“The WCEC took pressure off me doing the vendors and the pumpkin contest,” Richard said, so he could focus on the weigh-off and drop. He said things went smooth and they were ready for the drop early but waited until scheduled time of 2:30 p.m.

He said so the event can continue for many years there has been recruitment and training of volunteers.

The many sponsors and their generous donations also help make the event possible, he added.

As the event grows it is attracting growers from around the state and neighboring states as well with one grower from Billings this year.

In addition to the set up there is also the clean up. He said Marv Wake cleans up all the pumpkin mess each year and whatever is missed, Richard said the deer usually find their way to it and clean up the rest.

The cars are hauled away and this year, Richard said some people, who also take some pumpkin pieces, also took some piano pieces. The rest of the piano he hauled away in the back of his pickup.

“It’s more of an event now. It all comes together when you have the right people doing it for the right reason. It is a signature event for Worland in the fall,” Richard said.