Giant pumpkins battle for heavyweight glory and the world record in California

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) — Giant pumpkin growers and their massive gourds will converge on Monday in Northern California for an annual pumpkin-weighing contest, competing for the top prize and a chance to challenge the world record set just last week in England.

At least 30 growers of giant pumpkins have signed up for the 53rd World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, south of San Francisco, said event spokesman Ronan Fowler.

Among the participants is four-time champion Travis Gienger, a horticulture teacher from Minnesota, whose winning streak ended last year after he was unable to participate because his pumpkin broke while it was still growing.

Gienger, who this year had to deal with temperatures that dipped below freezing, grew a pumpkin whose circumference is so big it could be a world record contender, Fowler said.

Fowler said last week that Gienger and his father would take turns driving 30 hours over the weekend to get the pumpkin the size of a small car to California.

The new world record was set by Ian Paton, of Lymington, on England's south coast, with a giant squash weighing 2,857 pounds (1,296 kilograms). That's heavier than two and a half concert grand pianos .

Paton grows his giant gourds in a greenhouse, while Gienger grows them in the pumpkin patch in his backyard in Anoka, a city on the banks of the Mississippi River north of Minneapolis, Fowler said.

“The fact that Travis can weather the elements, like 30-degree weather, and still grow this massive pumpkin is pretty unbelievable,” the spokesman said.

Brandon Dawson, of Santa Rosa, California, who won the top prize last year with a behemoth of a pumpkin weighing 2,346 pounds (1,064 kilograms), will also compete.

The pumpkin champ this year will win $9 per pound of pumpkin and have their lumpy gourd showcased during a parade through Half Moon Bay this weekend. If they break the world record, they will take an extra prize of $30,000.

Monday’s festivities, which will kick off the city's fall celebration, will also include a special appearance by pumpkin carver Mike Valladao.

Sadly, these giants are grown for their size, not flavor, so there will be no giant pumpkin pies at the end of the festival.

Rodriguez reported from San Francisco.