Friday, October 24, 2008







Scenes from the 2008 Ventura County Giant Pumpkin Weigh-off!

Pumpkinmania in 2 days!


Hello Pumpkinistas!


Just two more days until Pumpkinmania! I am very confident that there will be two entries in the 700-800 pound range, so the competition for the top spot will be palpable. Plus, the Pumpkinmania Giant Pumpkin Weigh-off and Contest announces the addition of two new prize categories to this year’s competition: The Most Classic Pumpkin, prize sponsor, The Epoch Time, and The Largest Organically-Grown Pumpkin, prize sponsor, Yamagami’s Nursery, Cupertino, CA.
Just in case, here are the details:
Event: The 2008 Pumpkinmania! Giant Pumpkin Weigh-off & Contest
Day/date/time: Sunday, October 26, 2008, 8:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m., entry and grower registration from 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m., final weigh-off begins at 12:00 noon.
Location: Centennial Heritage Museum, 3101 West Harvard Street, Santa Ana, CA 92704,
http://www.centennialmuseum.org/, for map and directions.
Price: Free to enter, free to attend!
Prizes: Heaviest Pumpkin, First Place, $1,000, Second Place, $500, Third Place, $300, courtesy of Gardner & Bloome division of Kellogg Garden Products. Prizes will be also awarded for Best Color, Funniest Shape, Youngest Grower, Most Experienced Grower, Most Classic Pumpkin, and many more.
Activities: Children face-painting, Victorian tea, blacksmithing demonstrations, Guess the Weight of the (Three Heaviest) Pumpkins, and more.
Rules & Regulations
1. This is an open competition to all growers in any part of the world.
2. The pumpkin must be grown by the grower and in the country where the grower resides.
3. A grower may enter only one pumpkin, and no family may enter more than two entries.
4. Entries will be received between 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. on the day of competition.
5. Entries must be sound, healthy, and undamaged. This means free of rot, holes or cracks through to the cavity, chemical residue, soil, and soft spots.
6. No foreign material is to be included in the weighing. Vine must be trimmed within 1.0” from the stem of the fruit. Judges reserve the right to fully inspect each pumpkin before the weight is announced and official. Refusal to allow inspection of a pumpkin will result in its disqualification.
7. Any pumpkin previously entered in or weighed at any other competition prior to the contest will be deemed ineligible.
8. In the event of a tie, prize(s) will be combined and split equally among entrants.
9. Decision of the judges will be final in all cases.
10. Contest sponsors and staff shall not be liable for compensation for loss or damage to any pumpkins, contestants, their families and friends, or personal property. All entrants completely and totally indemnify the sponsors and organizers of the weigh-off and contest.