Pumpkin Weigh‑Offs: Weight Watchers Need Not Apply

Posted on October 17, 2026October 17, 2026 by Dusty Roads | No Comments

A black cat with bright yellow eyes sits among dozens of small orange pumpkins. The pumpkins fill the entire frame, creating a vivid contrast with the cat’s dark fur.

🍂 Fall in New England Means Pumpkins

A huge carved pumpkin sits outdoors on a stack of wooden pallets. It has triangular eyes and a wide smiling jack‑o’-lantern mouth, with autumn foliage in the background. Fall in New England means pumpkins — everywhere. Big ones, little ones, carved ones, decorative ones. If Linus were around, he’d probably swear the Great Pumpkin was hiding somewhere between Route 1 and the cider stand.

Every year, growers try to outdo themselves, and every fair seems to have a pumpkin weigh‑off. But this year? We had some true giants.

🎃 Topsfield Fair: The Local Heavyweight

Last week at the Topsfield Fair, a true behemoth walked away with first place. The winning pumpkin weighed in at 2,598 pounds, breaking the all‑time Topsfield Fair record. That’s a lot of pies.

A massive pumpkin sits on a wooden pallet, secured with black straps, while a forklift lifts it inside an indoor event space. Several people stand around watching, indicating it’s part of a pumpkin weigh‑off at the Topsfield Fair.

🎃 Warren, RI: A New World Record

A man stands behind an enormous pumpkin weighing 3,156 pounds at an outdoor weigh‑off event. The pumpkin sits on a platform with a digital display showing its weight, and an orange event board with flags is visible in the background. And just when you thought pumpkins couldn’t get any bigger, Saturday’s New England Giant Pumpkin Weigh‑Off in Warren, RI delivered a monster.

The winning pumpkin tipped the scale at 3,156 pounds, setting not just a regional record — but a new world record.

The grower, Ron Wallace of Coventry, RI, is no stranger to pumpkin fame. In 2012, he became the first person ever to grow a pumpkin over a ton (that’s 2,000 pounds if you didn’t know). He’s now waiting for Guinness World Records to certify his newest accomplishment.

🎃 Up‑and‑Coming Growers

There are rising stars too. Take 13‑year‑old Harold Harris from Martha’s Vineyard. He raised two massive pumpkins — not 2,000‑pound giants, but impressive for any grower, let alone a teenager. His pumpkins weighed 340 pounds and 535 pounds. Not bad for someone who probably still has homework.

And in case you were wondering, that 2,598‑pound Topsfield pumpkin? It was grown by an 80‑year‑old man. Age clearly has nothing to do with pumpkin power.

🎃 What Happens to the Giants?

I don’t know what happens to these behemoths once their spotlight fades, but their smaller cousins will soon shine. The Roger Williams Zoo is preparing its annual Jack‑O‑Lantern Spectacular, with over 5,000 carved pumpkins lighting up the Wetlands Trail.

These aren’t your childhood triangle‑eyes and one‑tooth grins. These are true works of art carved by professional pumpkin artists. I went a few years ago — the skill and creativity are incredible. A far cry from my crooked little childhood jack‑o‑lanterns. A large group of carved pumpkins glows in the dark, each with a unique face ranging from cheerful to spooky. The pumpkins are arranged at different heights, creating a bright, warm display against the black background.

🎃 Enjoy the Pumpkin Season

So enjoy the New England pumpkin excitement while it lasts. It will be gone soon enough for another year. And if you see Linus, tell him the Great Pumpkin is alive and well — and currently residing in Warren, RI.

Two cats sit among a large group of pumpkins in an outdoor pumpkin patch. One cat is long‑haired and orange, the other short‑haired and black. Both rest on top of big pumpkins, with trees, people, and an American flag visible in the background.

Keene NH

Posted on October 20, 2014October 20, 2014 by Dusty Roads

My friend Nancy, her children and I headed up to Keene, NH for the annual Pumpkin Festival. Who knew a bunch of immature, rowdy college kids would steal the limelight. We didn’t see any of it. We heard the sirens, saw lots of flashing lights and ambulances but nothing else. As we parked our car the lot attendant said they didn’t know what was going on but that they had heard there was an “incident”.

They said be careful and have a good time. So that’s what we did. I’ll save my remarks about idiot college kids for another post. It won’t be a pretty one.

It was quite a walk from the car to the center of Keene where the pumpkins lined the Main St. Keene holds the World Record for most number of lit jack-o-lanterns on display. In 2013 the total was 30,581. Kind of mind boggling. I don’t know if they won this year but there were Jack-o- lanterns everywhere.

Near the Ferris Wheel the was a “Dome” of pumpkins being set up.

There were wooden shelves set up along the center of Main street where more jack-o-lanterns perched.

They surrounded tress, made rows along the curbs and piled against fences and jersey barriers.

Almost anywhere you could imagine there were carved pumpkins. They were even in the trees.

It was packed! There were quite a few Halloween Characters around who posed for pictures with the kids. One of the first ones and one of the best ones was Batman. He even had his car. He patiently stood by waving to the crowd and posed for pictures. Very nicley done Batman!

While Alex was meeting and smoozing with the caped crusader Dawn was doing her version of pole dancing. She was more interested in the metal handrail in front of the large brick building than pumpkins or Batman.

I had promised to go on the Ferris Wheel with Dawn but when we got to it the kids were more interested in getting a pumpkin to carve. For a $5.00 donation you got to carve a pumpkin that got counted toward the total. At our first stop where we made our donation the pumpkins were pretty soggy so we moved on to another stand only to find the same thing there.

Along the way we marveled at the creativity of the carvers and Dawn and Alex signed a cardboard wall with their names.

Finally down near the craft fair and food Alex and I located some semi solid pumpkins, Dawn was getting her face painted. The man helping us explained that the pumpkins are all hollowed out by volunteers before the festival starts. They begin the process 2-3 days before the big date so the pumpkins begin to go downhill in a hurry.

The sun was setting as we put the finishing touches on our Jack-o-lanterns and began to work our way back to Main Street for the Pumpkin Tower. The pumpkins spell out words, I think of the sponsors of the event, but it’s a pretty amazing sight.

Did they win again? I don’t know. I googled it but couldn’t find 2014. The other burning question is….Pumpkin , Fruit or Vegetable?

(The answer is Fruit)

Dino Land or Into the Fog!

Posted on October 16, 2014October 16, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Dusk was fast approaching. The twilight time when shadows lengthen and imagination runs wild.

We watched the “Great Pumpkin” wow the crowd and explored the exhibits tucked in the entry square and then it was time to take that first step.

Once you start down that path there’s no turning back. You enter the world of the dinosaur. Sounds wash over you like a wave. Birds calling, strange growls and grunts, some distant thunder.

Fog, misty, creepy fog clings to the trail and plants. Pumpkin displays and jack-o-lanterns line the path but you know there is more.

You can hear them, even sense them and there looming out of the gloom is your first dinosaur.

Jurassic Park in the northeast. A pterodactyl takes flight and a baby raptor bounces in the bushes waving his tiny hands.

They are all here. Allosaurus, stegosaurus, and triceratops. The Famous Tyrannosaurus Rex. More fog drifts past as the atmosphere deepens. More thunder and now there’s lightning.

You hear the rumbling almost before you see it. The great brontosaurus, traveling in a herd, stomachs growling like a bad case of indigestion. Thunder lizards!