Despite cool temperatures, what appeared to be thousands of people, came out for day one of Port Elgin’s two-day annual Pumpkinfest celebration.
The biggest attraction on day one is the weigh-off of the giant pumpkins and vegetables and this year, the weigh-off had some record numbers, from pumpkins to giant vegetables.
This year’s pumpkin weigh-in saw the winner set a site record and was only six pounds below the Canadian record. At 1,871.5 pounds, the giant was raised in Ormstown, Quebec by Jim Bryson and daughter Kelsey.
Kelsey Bryson says that they will be back next year to try to break the record. Jim Bryson didn’t want to give away his growing secrets but said that during the hot summer it took 100 gallons of water per day to maintain growing. He also said that he has a ‘food’ ingredient that helps with growth.
To top off day one of the weigh-in, two Canadian records were set in the Giant Vegetable category with a cucumber weighing in at 18.51 lbs. raised by Dennis Martin of Palmerston and a carrot at 6.45 lbs. grown by Jeff Warner of Englehart.
