Pumpkin plants are almost ready for pickup for the return of the Whonnock Giant Pumpkin Contest.
The fourth annual event will not be held until October, but free pumpkin plants will be available for pick up at the end of May.
“It has been a very cold Spring, ” explained Pascale Shaw, contest organizer with Joanne Halliday.
“The pumpkins have not even sprouted yet. This time last year they had already been handed out. Pumpkins like it hot and as we have no control over the weather, we have to wait for it to warm up,” explained Shaw who grows the plants on her flower farm, The Rainbow Eggs Farm.
Trevor Halliday is the reigning champion who holds the record with a pumpkin that weighed 780 pounds, 354 kilograms. Last year he won with a 553.9 pound, 251 kilogram, pumpkin.
For those aiming to put his pumpkins to the test, seeds from his monster pumpkin were saved from last year are being sold at Grow and Gather Garden Centre – with all proceeds going to BC Children’s Hospital.
So far 90 seeds have already been sold, but there are lots more available for purchase.
This years pumpkin weigh off is set to take place at 1 p.m. on Sunday Oct. 23.
“It’s a little later than we would have liked,” said Shaw. “But the municipal election is the weekend before and I will be seeking re-election for school trustee and am going to be pretty busy picking up all of my signs,” she noted.
This year the contest will be bigger and better than ever, Shaw promised, already having received their first donation from the Whonnock Community Association. There will be a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place specifically for competitors who live in the community of Whonnock. There will also be an “outsider” category. This will include anyone east of the Pitt River, west of the Stave Lake Dam, and north of the Fraser River all the way to the mountains.
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“So essentially all of Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows and Stave Falls,” said Shaw.
Halliday elaborated that in order to come up with boundaries, they needed to define what an “outsider” was.
“We wanted to keep it local and (we) feel that these boundaries are the easiest to understand,” she said, noting that the contest was originally created to be a community building event. Any pumpkin grown within the boundaries can enter.
A largest zucchini and crowd favorite squash category have also been added to this years event.
“Even though the plants are not ready to be given out, the contest has officially started,” shared Halliday.
Those wanting to participate or volunteer can sign up by adding their name on the Whonnock Giant Pumpkin Contest Facebook page or they can email Whonnockgiantpumpkincontest@gmail.com.
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