HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (KGO) — The annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-off in Half Moon Bay is bringing together gourd growers from across the country to see who managed to grow the heaviest pumpkin.
Officials were weighing pumpkins from small to massive all morning and the excitement was only growing, with each pumpkin grower hoping that there’s was the winner.
“It is a fun guessing game, Ken Newton said. “It doesn’t matter…it can be a smaller pumpkin, can be weighing more than the other pumpkin.”
Pick-up trucks carrying the largest pumpkins started arriving at 5 a.m. Monday in Half Moon Bay. Some were estimated to weigh more than 2,000 pounds.
Brandon Dawson from Santa Rosa, was 2024’s second place winner, with his 2,465-pound pumpkin losing by six pounds.
His pumpkin last year losing to Travis Gienger’s 2,471-pound pumpkin. Gienger, from Minesota, also holds the record for the largest North American pumpkin at 2,749 pounds.
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“It’s a 180-day commitment,” he said. “You start your seeds around April 10, you pick them around October 10, and rally out here. It’s a lot.”
The pumpkin he was working on split earlier in the season, so this year he came from Minesota just to support his friends. Still, he said he remembers well just how anxious growers can feel in the seconds leading to the moment of truth at the scale.
The first place winner gets $9 per pound and a $30,000 bonus if they break the record.
This all leads up to the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival Saturday and Sunday.
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