Growing a World Record Pumpkin: The Race is On
Half Moon Bay Weigh-Off Ups the Ante with New $25k Prize
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The current world record is 2,009 pounds, grown by Ron Wallace from Greene, RI. The new record was set at the Topsfield Fair in Topsfield, MA on September 28, 2012. |
The king-sized seeds have been planted, rich soil meticulously prepared, profuse watering and fertilizing are well underway, and a fevered race is on among cultivators of colossal curcurbits to grow a world record pumpkin. And, with big news coming from the World Pumpkin Capital of Half Moon Bay, California, there's a realistic chance it very well could happen this year.
Organizers of Half Moon Bay's Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off have announced they are offering $25,000 in total prize money for a world record breaking pumpkin with the goal of luring potential record busters to this picturesque seaside community for its October 14, 2013 event. The prize money is believed to be the greatest, by far, of any weigh-off in the world, reinforcing Half Moon Bay's reputation as the “Super Bowl of Weigh-Offs”.
Here's how the $25,000 breaks down: the winner receives $6 per pound plus a $10,000 bonus mega prize for a new world record plus the difference to get to $25,000. So, a 2,000-pound pumpkin would net $12,000 (2,000 pounds x $6 per pound), plus $10,000 for a new world record, plus an additional $3,000 difference to get to the $25,000 threshold.
To receive the $25,000 world record prize, the grower must break and hold the world record at the conclusion of the Half Moon Bay weigh-off. If two or more growers happen to break the world record at Half Moon Bay, the prize money would go to the grower of the heaviest pumpkin. The current world record is 2,009 pounds, grown by Ron Wallace from Greene, RI. The new record was set at the Topsfield Fair in Topsfield, MA on September 28, 2012.
2012 winner Thad Starr of Pleasant Hill, OR talks with the media about his winning 1,775 pound pumpkin, a new California state record
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Superstar grower Thad Starr’s humongous, mind-blowing 1,775-pound weigh-off champion mega-gourd set a new California State Record and obliterated a formidable field of heavyweight contenders in winning the 2012 Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off.
The Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off will take place on October 14th from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. on the I.D.E.S. Grounds, 735 Main Street, Half Moon Bay, CA. The champion pumpkin, along with the top five pumpkins overall, will be on display at the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival on October 19-20 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For information on the weigh-off and festival, call 650-726-9652. |
