Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin Festival returns Oct. 5 and 6
Extra-extra-extra-large pumpkins will face off in a weigh-off this Saturday in Elk Grove. Photo courtesy Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin Festival
Bring on the giant pumpkins! It’s time for a weigh-off!
This weekend, the Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin Festival returns to Elk Grove Park, headlined by its Giant Pumpkin and Produce Weigh-Off.
Check-in is 7 to 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 5; for entrants, advance registration is $10 (including parking and breakfast) or $25 at the gate.
“For 30 years, Elk Grove Park has transformed into the ultimate autumn celebration, attracting pumpkin enthusiasts from far and wide,” say the organizers. “Since 1994, the festival has been a beacon for giant pumpkin growers competing for glory. Over the years, we’ve seen some incredible pumpkins, like the 2,138-pound record-breaker from 2018. Imagine the size of that pie!”
Spectators can watch the actual weighing from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with the awards presentation at 4 p.m.
This contest could produce a record breaker. The top contenders will all weigh more than 1,000 pounds. Last year’s heftiest pumpkin nearly topped a ton – 1,940 pounds. The biggest Sacramento County-grown pumpkin (which has its own award): 1,589 pounds.
“Giant pumpkin growers from all over California and beyond will be vying for the top prize – and perhaps a world record – as each of their enormous gourds hit the scale,” say the organizers. “Enter your own produce or pumpkins for a chance to win cash prizes, or cheer from the stands as the monstrous orange orbs are moved with a forklift to a special scale.”
Not just pumpkins will be competing. There also are categories for the heaviest zucchini, watermelon, cantaloupe, tomato, squash and other members of the squash/pumpkin family as well as longest gourd, widest sunflower head and tallest corn stalk.
Judging by last year’s winners, contestants will have to bring some whoppers. Taking home top honors in 2023 were a 3.7-pound tomato, a 220-pound watermelon and a 54.4-pound zucchini.
Meanwhile, the Giant Pumpkin Festival has many other opportunities for people to compete with pumpkins including recipe contests and bake-offs, a pie-eating contest, scarecrow decorating and the always popular pumpkin regatta (where giant pumpkins become canoes for a one-of-a-kind race).
Besides all the pumpkin, the festival features entertainment, music, food trucks, vendors and more. There’s a pumpkin patch, too; take a gourd home!
With free admission, the festival runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 5 and 6. Parking is $20, but a bike valet is available free.
Elk Grove Park is located at 9950 Elk Grove-Florin Road, Elk Grove.
For full details including a festival map and contest rules: https://www.cosumnescsd.gov/392/Elk-Grove-Giant-Pumpkin-Festival
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Garden Checklist for week of Oct. 6
Get ready to get to work! Cooler weather is headed our way mid-week.
* Clean up the summer vegetable garden and compost disease-free foliage.
* Harvest pumpkins and winter squash.
* October is the best month to plant trees, shrubs and perennials.
* Before planting, add a little well-aged compost and bone meal to the soil, but hold off on other fertilizers until spring. Keep the transplants well-watered (but not wet) for the first month as they become settled.
* Dig up corms and tubers of gladioli, dahlias and tuberous begonias after the foliage dies. Clean and store in a cool, dry place.
* Treat azaleas, gardenias and camellias with chelated iron if leaves are yellowing between the veins.
* Now is the time to plant seeds for many flowers directly into the garden, including cornflower, nasturtium, nigella, poppy, portulaca, sweet pea and stock.
* Plant seeds for radishes, bok choy, mustard, spinach and peas.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Set out cool-weather bedding plants, including calendula, pansy, snapdragon, primrose and viola.
* Reseed and feed the lawn. Work on bare spots.
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