Kincardine’s Terry Weber Crowned Pumpkinfest Champion

Terry Weber has done it.

The first-time giant pumpkin grower from Kincardine earned himself some serious bragging rights at the 40th Port Elgin Pumpkinfest on Saturday.

His impressive 1,965-pound pumpkin came within just 1 ½ lbs. of breaking the Port Elgin site record, which was set last year by Jeff Warner from Englehart, Ont.

Now, everyone will have to wait another year to see if someone can finally produce a 2,000-lb. great pumpkin from their patch. More giant pumpkins and other large vegetables were slated for weighing on Sunday, the event’s final day. Most of these entries are local and generally smaller vegetable submissions.

Big, yellowy pale green with a hint of orange – definitely a pumpkin and not a squash – Weber’s entry surpassed Art Johnston’s 1,745.50-pound pumpkin. However, Johnston did win the squash category with his squash that tipped the scales at 1,048.50 lbs.

Weber grew his winning pumpkin from seeds he won as a door prize at the Giant Vegetable Growers of Ontario spring seminar and has been caring for his plants since April 15 under the guidance of local grower Bob Mac Kenzie from Tiverton.

“He checked on me all summer long,” Weber said.

Weber was certainly one to keep an eye on going into the event.

<p As he mentioned to The Sun Times in an article prior to Pumpkinfest, after welcoming his grandson last year, he wanted to recreate a photo he had of his daughter Brittney sitting in front of an approximately 300-pound pumpkin he grew back when she was young-25 years ago.

They took that picture together as his family joined him for celebration when he was announced as the first-place winner amid applause from a crowd watching numerous giants being transported by forklift onto the scale inside what used to be a town arena and is now a church.

Terry Weber’s winning pumpkin is carried in this forklift sling to the scale Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025 at Port Elgin Pumpkinfest. SCOTT DUNN /THE SUN TIMES/POSTMEDIA NETWORK

Weber partners in a pool company; he’s not actually a farmer or seasoned vegetable giant grower. This is his first attempt at growing giants.

He managed three pumpkins total; unfortunately, two didn’t survive. He also cultivated giant bushel gourds, marrows, watermelons and cabbages that he entered on Sunday as well. So how did this novice end up snagging top honors?

“I don’t honestly know. It just grew right from the get-go,” he replied just as someone passed by offering warm congratulations.

The winning pumpkin thrived outdoors in an old cattle pasture where Weber put in plenty of effort along the way. “Oh you’ve got to bury all the vines. You’ve got to water and fertilize-the whole bit. It’s pretty much an everyday job.” He estimates that all three plants required around 500 gallons of water daily.

Weber laughed off any idea that he’d stop now that he’s won: “No. We’re going for some records next year. Oh yeah! That’s just my style,” he stated confidently while adding that he’s already considering different strategies for next season: “There are some tips and tricks I’ve picked up-but we won’t discuss them,” he said with a friendly grin.

“We were so close! For our 40th anniversary I really wanted us to break that barrier of two thousand pounds,” event coordinator Joanne Robbins shared during an interview afterward while smiling brightly about it all. “But there’s always next year-we’re so close!”

This time around her team relied on skilled forklift drivers who helped identify which pumpkins were likely heavier as they moved them into position inside the arena; saving those larger ones until last really builds excitement she noted. But until those pumpkins hit scales , their weight remains unknown.

The Guinness Book of World Records says, the biggest recorded pumpkin weighed 2 ,749 pounds (or 1 ,246.9 kilograms), grown by Travis Gienger from America back in 2023. Commentary during Saturday’s weigh-off indicated another one grown over England even topped 2 ,800 lbs!...