Every October since 1974, Half-Moon Bay, California, hosts a competitive national pumpkin weight-off championship. Contesters from across the country grow large competition side gourds and submit their weights to judges, who announce the heaviest pumpkin.

This year, Brandon Dawson, resident of Santa Rosa California, grew a pumpkin weighing-off at 2,346 pounds, winning him the competition. During the 2024 competition, Dawson was the runner-up pumpkin, weighing 2,465 pounds, so this year, he was able to rebound and come back stronger to win the competition. 

The winner receives a monetary prize consisting of $9 per pound. For his pumpkin, Dawson was awarded a total of $21,114. In addition, competitors can also win an extra $30,000 if they break the world record for heaviest pumpkin. This record was broken during the 2023 competition, when Travis Gienger grew a pumpkin weighing 2,749 pounds.

Prizes are also awarded to competitors who win other categories such as most beautiful pumpkin or by having the biggest pumpkin in a certain region of the country. 

In order to enter the competition, contestants have to follow a series of rules. In order to be submitted, pumpkins can’t have any damaged area larger than 3 inches in any direction, and are only permitted to have 2 damaged regions. Also, when weighing the pumpkins tarps and other carrying devices can’t be used or else the pumpkin will be disqualified. 

While growing giant pumpkins might seem straightforward, it is quite the opposite. These large gourds need hundreds of gallons of water per day, often requiring growers to constantly water their plants with sprinklers. Also, growers need to make sure they prune any smaller pumpkins that begin to grow in order to direct all of the plant’s energy directly to one pumpkin, ensuring it grows huge.

Nonetheless, the Half-Moon Bay National Pumpkin Weight-off championship requires extreme dedication, but comes with great reward.