Giant pumpkin weighs in at 1,436 pounds at annual Neguac festival

Whether it was planned or not, there were 23 pumpkins registered for the 23rd year of the Neguac Giant Pumpkin Provincial Festival in Neguac, N.B.

The annual weighing took place Oct. 1 in the Sportsplex Arena, with the winning giant tipping the scales at 1,436 pounds. Laurent Mallet of Haut-Shippigan was happy with the win, beating his nearest competitor,Aldoda Losierof Tracadie by 315 pounds.

But festival president Carmel Robichaud says Mallet really wanted to beat the 2014 record of 1,468 kilograms. His giant pumpkin fell 32 pounds short.

After 23 years, Robichaud said people still love to grow the massive orange gourds and enjoy watching them get weighed.

"We can't stop, it's impossible," she said about the festival first started in 1995 when the first giant pumpkins weighed close to 500 pounds.

Now people like Andre McLaughlin are growing field pumpkins that weigh that much.

"These pumpkins are so precious to the farmers. They treat them like babies," Robichaudsaid.

The festival organizers are hoping more people will grow field pumpkins and take part in the weigh-in. Robichaud said they plan to add a category for sunflowers in 2018.

"We need to see who can grow the tallest sunflowers."