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CANFIELD – The only thing larger than the size of the produce at Parks Garden Center in Canfield on Saturday was the enthusiasm of the crowd.
Approximately 200 people attended the Ohio Valley Giant Pumpkin Growers World Weigh-off. Owner and Board Site Coordinator Tim Parks emceed the event as growers came to the stage with the fruits of their labor.
Board Director Bill Hendricks said the weigh-off has taken place for about thirty years, even during COVID. Besides pumpkins, they weighed watermelons, tomatoes, long gourds and sunflowers.
Hendricks described this as "the biggest day of the year." He noted that Parks is a weigh-off site officially sanctioned by the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth, the world's governing organization for giant pumpkin competitions. Hendricks said the OVGPG holds the world record for the top 10 average size of giant pumpkins.
While many of the growers have been in the group since the 1990's, Julie Kent of Hartville is in just her third year of growing giant pumpkins. Although it often takes years of trial and error to achieve significant weight, Kent's first effort, as well as last year's, exceeded 2,000 pounds.
Kent describes her success as "very lucky," adding, "It's just fun nurturing something."
Eric Gunstrom of Pittsburgh brought a watermelon weighing 143.5 pounds.
“I usually grow pumpkins but took a year off," he said, noting that it takes 40 hours of work per week to grow a giant pumpkin.
Besides pumpkins and watermelons, Gunstrom has broken records for the heaviest and the longest eggplant. He said he enjoys growing anything.
"You take a seed in April and come September you have something huge. I still find it amazing," Gunstrom said.
Amber Cook and her three children came from Campbell, New York, in order to cheer on her husband, Caleb. She described the scene as "very impressive. It's very cool to see the giants."
Bill Shadowski of North Royalton brought his 6-year-old grandson Logan of Mentor. Shadowski said he comes every year and although he no longer grows giant pumpkins, "I still love seeing them. And I know we're getting close to a world record."
Lance Croyle, of Portersville, Pa., is a grower but was on hand Saturday as a volunteer. He operated one of the forklifts to transport the fruit to the stage area for weighing.
What most attracted Croyle to the OVGPG was "the kindness of the people. They share information to help one another. It's a friendly community."
The average weight of the top 10 pumpkins was 2,212 pounds. The OVGPG gave away more than $70,000 in prizes to the winners. Carol and Dave Stelts of Enon Valley, Pa., had the largest pumpkin at 2,565.5 pounds. Other winners were:
* Squash: Jason Bragg of Beckley, W.Va., 1,149.5 lbs.
* Long Gourd: Ken Zapitella of East Springfield, Pa., 136.5 inches
* Tomato: Quinn Werner of Sagerstown, Pa., 5.78 lbs.
* Watermelon: Jay Yohe of Export, Pa., 224 lbs.
* Field Pumpkin: Mark Kiger of Brockway, Pa., 197.5 lbs
* Bushel Gourd: James Burkholder of Ottawa, Ohio, 324 lbs
* Marrow: Jim Beal of Laotto, Indiana, 16.78 lbs.
Tim Parks also announced that the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth International Growers Convention, which has occurred every March all over the world, will be in Canfield in 2027.