In the top 100 Ontario festivals, Mother Nature once again smiled on Port Elgin Pumpkinfest bringing sunshine and warm temperatures to attract the thousands of people who attended on Saturday, October 3rd (2026).
Now over 40 years old, the festival began in what is today Coulter Parkette, then moved to the Casino that was once on Port Elgin Beach, then to the Curling Club, then to the local high school and, finally, to its current home, Saugeen Shores Community Church building (once the Port Elgin arena). With each move, it became larger until today it is televised globally. Founder and 2026 Pumpkinfest President, Doug Court, explained that it was developed as a tourist attraction to fill the off-shoulder season.
“I had heard of giant vegetables and thought that would be a good idea,” said Court. “So the Mayor at the time, Fred Werth, thought it was too. The first pumpkins were around 150 to 200 pounds and, now, the world is seeing them at more than 2,000 lbs. We almost beat the site record last year at 1,965 lbs. and we were hopeful that we would break the 2,000 lbs. but it wasn’t meant to be this year.”
The weekend began with the singing of O’Canada by the Chantry Singers.
2026 Winners
Pumpkinfest is now a member of the Giant Vegetable Growers of Ontario (GVGO), the GPC (Giant Pumpikin Commonwealth) and FEO (Festivals and Events Ontario) and hosts two official International Weigh Offs over the two-day event – Saturday and Sunday. Each is important to the growers for their statistics and yearly averages with some travelling from out-of-province, such as Quebec, and Englehart in northern Ontario.
Pat Watson, President of the GVGO explained that it is a non-profit organization dedicated to the growing of giant vegetables for the purpose of competition, display and enjoyment. “We are considered the largest gardening club in Canada.”
Title sponsor of the weigh-offs is Bruce Power that designed and constructed the forklift apparatus used to move the giant pumpkins, gourds and watermelons to the official weigh scale. Each year, Mayor Luke Charbonneau ensures that the apparatus is securely placed before transport.
While many come to see first-hand the giant vegetables that are the primary attraction, there is something for every age and interest. From the Cinderella Carriage Car show, the largest in Ontario, to the midway rides, a petting zoo, the entertainment stage, the craft pavilion in the Port Elgin Legion, and foods of every description, Pumpkinfest prides itself as being “Family Fun Second to None”.
Photo Gallery
The highlight of the Saturday event beginning has been the pumpkin seed competition. In the past, participants were required to see how far each competitor could ‘spit’ a seed however, new regulations were brought in and different launching techniques were initiated. This year, the goal was to tie a seed to a mini-parachute and see how far it would go before landing.
… and the winner was …
On winning at 10ft 11in, Longmire graciously said, “MPP Lisa Thompson beat me last year and, this year, she isn’t here so … YES I am the winner!”
