Minnesota pumpkin nearly breaks world record weighing more than 2,500 pounds
Travis Gienger of Anoka, Minnesota, took home the title for the heaviest pumpkin weighing 2,560 pounds.
Giant pumpkin sets new U.S. record weighing over 2,000 pounds
A gourd that measured at 2,560 pounds was a record not just for the Half Moon Bay festival, but for any pumpkin grown in North America.
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. - The record was broken in Half Moon Bay's Pumpkin Weigh Off, but was just short of the world record set at 2,703 pounds.
Dozens of competitors lined up early in the morning, and they came from all over the region. The winner traveled from halfway across the country.
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Travis Gienger of Anoka, Minnesota, took home the title for the heaviest pumpkin.
His gourd measured 2,560 pounds. That's a record not just for the Half Moon Bay festival, but for any pumpkin grown in North America.
Travis Gienger celebrates after winning the 2022 Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival Weigh Off. (Image: Igor Porton, official photographer for Miramar Events)
He won a $23,400 prize for his massive growth.
There was buzz his entry would beat the world record, which added a bit of extra pressure.
"I almost wish I came in as an underdog," he joked.
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Gienger won the competition in 2020 as well.
Steve Daletas, of Pleasant Hill, Oregon, took home second place, a $3,000 prize; his pumpkin weighed 2,425 pounds.
Normally, the pumpkin weigh-off is the first of a number of events this week in Half Moon Bay that lead up to the pumpkin festival this weekend, which is marking its 50th anniversary. This year will be the first time since 2019 that the festival has happened.
Cameron Palmer, festival committee president, explained there is a lot of work that goes into the festival to make sure it runs smoothly.
"We want the event to be safe, so we do a lot of meeting and pre-planning to make that happen," he said.
The Pumpkin Festival runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 15. It opens with a pumpkin breakfast starting at 7 a.m.