HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (KRON) — Half Moon Bay’s annual giant pumpkin weigh-off contest is underway Monday morning.
First-place prize money will be awarded through a “pay-by-the-pound” system with the champion winning $9 per pound. To win a $30,000 grand prize, a grower must break the world record for heaviest pumpkin, according to Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off organizers.
The current world record heavyweight champion pumpkin is 2,749 pounds, grown by farmer Travis Gienger of Minnesota in October 2023. He appeared at Half Moon Bay’s weigh-off contests in 2022 and 2023.
The pumpkin contest, now in its 52nd year, is a beloved annual tradition attended by families from across the San Francisco Bay Area. KRON4 Reporter Will Tran interviewed farmers, both young and old, about what it takes to grow a giant pumpkin. (Watch in the video player above)…