On Saturday, October 1st, a new record was set for the heaviest pumpkin in America, weighing in at 2,554 pounds! According to Buffalo News, the previous record stood at 2,528 pounds. The record breaking pumpkin was grown by Scott Andrusz, from Williamsville, New York, who had simply hoped to surpass New York’s state record at the time of 2,517 pounds.
The official weigh-in happened at Great Pumpkin Farm’s “World Pumpkin Weigh-Off,” that has been an annual event since 1996. It was that same year that the first 1,000-pound pumpkin was recorded, making its way into the Guinness Book of World Records. According to Syracuse.com, Andrusz got a prize reward of $5,000 for bringing in the country’s heaviest pumpkin to date.
Visitors can see the winning 2,554-pound pumpkin themselves on display at Great Pumpkin Farm from now until Sunday, October 16th, reports WHEC.
In the past 26 years, Great Pumpkin Farm’s enormous fall festival has added additional attractions such as amusement rides, pie-eating contests, magic shows, pumpkin canons, and specialty Halloween drinks from the farm’s onsite Witches Brew Bar & Café.
The farm’s fall festivities will go on everyday through October 31st. Weekdays are free from 10am to 7pm. You can find out more about festival weekends on their website here.
However, if you’re looking for something a little closer to the city, we recommend you check out these 10 pumpkin patches near NYC. We guarantee the available pumpkins there will be much lighter to bring home and carve.
And though the world record, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, for the heaviest pumpkin (coming in at 2,702 pounds from an Italian farmer) has yet to be beat, who knows what next year holds!