Revealed Oct 05, 2024 • Final up to date Oct 07, 2024 • 6 minute learn
Jeff Warner of Englehart, Ont., along with his profitable pumpkin at Port Elgin Pumpkinfest on Saturday, October 5, 2024. The 1,966.5-pound pumpkin set a brand new web site report for the occasion. Picture by Rob Gowan The Solar Instances
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Whereas the two,000-pound barrier remained elusive at Port Elgin Pumpkinfest on Saturday, profitable grower Jeff Warner nonetheless had rather a lot to have a good time.
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Not solely did his 1,966.5-lb. gargantuan gourd set a brand new web site report on the thirty ninth annual occasion, however he smashed his personal private finest by over 150 lbs., plus he lastly received to have a good time a win throughout the large Saturday weigh-off after ending runner-up thrice earlier than.
“I am excited. It was a long day to wait for it and I finally got to see what it was,” the Englehart, Ont., grower stated minutes after his profitable entry was weighed in entrance of a giant crowd Saturday afternoon. “I’m not sure it has sunk in yet, but I know it feels good.”
Warner’s profitable entry unseated the earlier web site report set in 2020, a 1,939.5-lb. pumpkin that was a crew undertaking by Phil and Jane Hunt of Cameron, Ont., in partnership with Chris Lyons of Toronto.
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Warner stated when he measured his pumpkin beforehand it estimated at 1,928 lbs., so he knew his personal earlier private better of 1,805 lbs. was nearly actually going to be crushed. However he was glad when it was even heavier than that, and was in a position to seize the location report by simply 27 lbs.
“I knew I had a good one when it just kept going and never really slowed down,” Warner stated. “Some of them shut down two or three weeks before the event. This one was slowing down but it kept going.”
Warner has been coming to Port Elgin Pumpkinfest for about 15 years and had come near topping the massive competitors on Saturday, however has performed second fiddle thrice.
He has gained thrice in Sunday’s weigh-off at Port Elgin – when the prize cash is much less – however to lastly prime the leaderboard throughout the occasion’s large day was further particular. He takes dwelling $3,200 for having the heaviest pumpkin in Saturday’s Nice Pumpkin Commonwealth weigh-off.
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“That was a goal. It was definitely on the list to someday win this one,” he stated. “That part felt really good.”
Warner, who grows his pumpkin in a greenhouse as a result of he wants that further warmth being up to now north, chalked up this yr’s success to being in all probability the nicest summer time he had ever seen.
“We had a lot of sun, a lot of warm nights that helps with these things,” stated Warner. “I think we just had a lot more sunny days than a normal summer.”
Warner truly had two pumpkins about the identical dimension this yr, till about 10 days in the past, when his different one received a random tough spot.
“I was just going out to measure it and I saw some fruit flies, and that is not usually a good thing,” stated Warner. “I was glad that at least I got one, because last year I didn’t even get one to the end.
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“Then you start to lose sleep because you only got one, but it made it.”
Warner wasn’t the one one with a private finest pumpkin on Saturday as Dave Pitura of Merrickville, Ont., weighed in a 1,785.5-pounder, giving him second place total and topping his earlier private better of 1,480 lbs.
David Pitura of Merrickville, Ont., along with his second place 1,785.5-lb. pumpkin at Port Elgin Pumpkinfest on Saturday, October 5, 2024. Picture by Rob Gowan The Solar Instances
Pitura stated he felt good about his end result as he knew he could be up in opposition to some stiff competitors.
“Port Elgin is a pretty tough place to be,” Pitura stated. “The best pumpkins in Ontario and Quebec are usually weighed here.”
Pitura stated the important thing for his success was a swap in rising areas. He stated he typically offers with insect issues, and by transferring his backyard to a unique space he didn’t have the identical issues he historically does. He now plans to alternate his backyard backwards and forwards every year, hoping that stops the bugs from taking a chew out of his pumpkin ardour undertaking.
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Whereas Warner deliberate on taking his profitable pumpkin dwelling to placed on show for footage at his corn maze this fall, Pitura determined his pumpkin has discovered a house in Port Elgin, at the very least for the following few weeks.
It was introduced that his big was being donated for the pumpkin drop to be held outdoors the Saugeen Shores Neighborhood Church on Oct. 20 at midday. The occasion is a fundraiser for the Kabaeshiwim respite girls’s shelter at Saugeen First Nation. The pumpkins are raised excessive into the air by a crane earlier than they’re dropped to blow up on the bottom beneath.
“I didn’t want to haul it back. It is heavy,” stated Pitura, who gained in Port Elgin in 2007 for each his pumpkin and squash. “I would gladly donate to any of the places that put on the weigh-off. There are lot of people that put in a lot of work to run the events, so anything to help them is fine with me.”
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It wasn’t simply big pumpkins being weighed contained in the Saugeen Shores Neighborhood Church in the midst of Pumpkinfest Village on Saturday.
There have been additionally big squash, watermelons, discipline pumpkins, cabbage, tomatoes, bushel gourds, marrow, rutabaga, carrots and sunflower faces. There have been additionally classes for the longest lengthy gourd, sunflower and cornstalk.
Big entries, together with bushel gourds, pumpkins, watermelons and cabbage, on show at Port Elgin Pumpkinfest on Saturday, October 5, 2024. Picture by Rob Gowan The Solar Instances
John Butler of the St. Thomas space is an everyday participant at Pumpkinfest and this yr he introduced greater than half a dozen entries, together with a brand new North America-record sunflower that was 28 ft, 2.5 inches tall.
Butler stated he began his sunflowers the primary week of Might this yr and stated he should have simply received fortunate.
“I can do the same thing next year and not have the results,” Butler stated. “Everything this year was over 25 feet for some reason. I grow 10 of them.”
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Butler truly beat his personal North American report of 27-ft., 8.5-in., a report he has damaged thrice now.
However he isn’t positive how for much longer he can hold on as a result of others are coming after him.
John Butler of the St. Thomas space along with his North American report 28-foot, 2.5-inch tall sunflower at Port Elgin Pumpkinfest on Saturday, October 5, 2024. Picture by Rob Gowan The Solar Instances
“The Americans are catching me. They are all using my seeds,” Butler stated. “They are catching me, which is good.”
Butler stated the wins and information are good, however even when there weren’t occasions like Pumpkinfest he would nonetheless do all of it.
“I just like growing,” he stated.
Pumpkinfest co-ordinator Joanne Robbins stated Saturday that organizers had been extraordinarily proud of how the occasion was going once more.
Enormous crowds stuffed the streets of Pumpkinfest Village as that they had near-perfect climate with sunshine and temperatures within the excessive teenagers. Lengthy strains of festivalgoers cued for the handfuls of meals choices, whereas kids and the younger at coronary heart loved the rides of the close by halfway.
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Robbins stated the Highway Hammers live performance on Friday night was an enormous success, whereas Saturday night’s 54-40 live performance was anticipated to be even larger.
The OLG Cinderella’s Carriage Automobile Present that lined close by Goderich Road featured tons of of traditional and distinctive automobiles.
“Just the general happiness of the crowds is amazing,” stated Robbins. “We work hard to make this happen and sometimes you get tired, but all you have to do is go out and see the families having such a great time.”
Robbins stated the tons of of volunteers that work to place the occasion on are like household, whereas the growers who present up every year are like household as nicely.
“There are a lot of forklifts, a lot of running and a lot of moving for two days, but at the end of it all it is all worth it,” stated Robbins.
All of it continued on Sunday with the second large Bruce Energy weigh-off, together with all the opposite occasions and points of interest, together with a Develop With Us children weigh-off and a enjoyable pet present.
Nathan Haagendoorn of Clinton had the highest pumpkin in Sunday’s weigh-off, coming in at 1,319.5 lbs., with Travis Farrell of Shelburne second at 1,163 lbs.
Full outcomes from each days might be discovered at pumpkinfest.org
A teenager performs road curling amongst the big crowds at Port Elgin Pumpkinfest on Saturday, October 5, 2024. Picture by Rob Gowan The Solar Instances
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