The Great Pumpkin

Get your fill of giant vegetables today during the Rocky Mountain Giant Vegetable Growers Pumpkin Weigh-Off at Jared’s Nursery, 10500 West Bowles Avenue in Littleton. The event will feature various competitions ranging from the heaviest green squash to the prettiest pumpkin or squash — and, of course, the heaviest pumpkin. The record was set last year at 1,075 pounds, but warmer weather this summer opens the possibility for yet another record. It’s going to take something special, though, to set the world record (which, according to www.bigpumpkins.com, was set by Joe Jutras, whose pumpkin weighed 1,689 pounds). If you’re a mere giant-vegetable spectator, food will be available, along with information and seeds for next year.

Why giant vegetables? Gary “the Wiz” Grande (CEO of the Rocky Mountain Giant Vegetable Growers) says his passion stems from a childhood of growing and a challenge: “A friend of mine named LongBeard challenged me to grow a pumpkin bigger than his, and he gave me this giant pumpkin seed for Christmas,” Grande remembers. “That spring, I grew two pumpkins off that seed. They grew to almost 400 pounds, and I whupped ol’ LongBeard’s butt by 200 pounds that year.” The weigh-off starts at 11 a.m.; visit www.coloradopumpkins.com or e-mail thewizard@coloradopumpkins.com for more information.
Sat., Sept. 27, 11 a.m., 2008