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Vernal Great Pumpkin Contest and Weigh Off Saturday, October 6th, 2012 Registration beings at 10:00 am - Official weighing begins at noon.
Thanks to Basin Nursery and UGPG member Lee Perry for hosting the Vernal weigh-off event. Prize winning giant pumpkins will be on site starting September 26th and continue until October 6th. Guess the weight on the giant pumpkin to win a prize!
Don't think of fun with the giant pumpkins ends after their weight is recorded. The second Annual Ginormous Pumpkin Regatta 2012 is Saturday, October 20th from 12:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Sugar House Park Pond at 2199 S 1400 East, Salt Lake City, UT.
If you have a large enough pumpkin, you do not have to put Mary, Mary quite contrary in it. Bring your life jacket, hollow out your pumpkin and use it as a canoe to race across the pond.
If you are more of an observer, visit the Giant Pumpkin Drop on October 27th at Hee Haw Farms. It is not a bird, a plane nor even superman but a great pumpkin dropping the sky and smashing the car underneath. Bring a giant pumpkin to drop and receive a free family pass.
Each fall giant pumpkin growers carefully compare the tally sheets from the weigh offs held around the world to see who wins this year's honors and who might set a new world record.
The results are meticulously maintained by the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth organization. Their information includes the placement of the pumpkin based on weight, the weight of the pumpkin, the growers name and where they live and where the contest occurred.
Listing of thousand pound plus pumpkins winners include most growers from most northern US states, many Canadian provinces, Belgium, Italy, Finland, Germany and New Zealand.
Ron Wallace, from Greene, Rhode Island entered his at the Topsfield Fair Weigh-off. He becomes the very first grower to join the exclusive One Ton Club because he is the only member. His winner topped the scale at 2,009.00 pounds.
In Utah, it is the Utah giant pumpkin growers that sponsor the official weigh offs. They gather each fall at a chosen location and weigh each entry on the official scale.
While this year competitions did not produce a state record it did produce a lot of cheers for Tyler Quigley took 1st place with a 1475 pound giant. Kyle Fox took 2nd with 1171 pound fruit and Ross Bowman took 3rd with a 1013.5 pound entry.
