While Charlie Brown and Linus Van Pelt sat in a patch waiting for the Great Pumpkin to arrive, 琉璃神社's Jordan Abbate took his own fabulous gourd to Armstrong.
Abbate, 27, was the adult winner of the annual Giant Pumpkin Weigh-In Saturday, Oct. 12, part of the 24th annual Armstrong Harvest Pumpkin Festival, and he did it in record style.
His pumpkin tipped the scale at a staggering 1,408 pounds, the largest such gourd in B.C. in 2024.
"This is the largest one I've ever grown, and from what I understand the largest weighed in B.C. this year," said Abbate on social media. "I'm very happy with it."
Abbate has been growing pumpkins since 2008. His secret to the giant gourds?
"The right seed (Dill's Atlantic Giant), good soil, a big healthy plant, and lots of watering all summer," he said.
Mike and Joanna Polay and family from Vancouver, BC, placed first in B.C. the weekend before with their 1,161 pound gourd as part of the Giant Pumpkins BC event in Langley.
A reader has alerted the Morning Star that David Chan of Richmond has grown a pumpkin weighing 2, 252 pounds but was weighed at a competition south of the border in Kent, Wash.
The local annual weigh-in is sponsored by Armstrong Kin Club, which also chipped in the prize money. Abbate received $500 while Youth Division winner Arthur Purdon walked away with $108 for his pumpkin which weighed in at 108 pounds.
"Growers have been nurturing giant pumpkins using various methods,鈥� longtime Harvest Pumpkin Festival weigh-in volunteer Mike Paull said. "Some fertilizer, TLC and a sunshade will help grow a heavy pumpkin but good weather also helps."
Early bird registrants were entered to win a $50 gift certificate donated by Armstrong Regional Co-operative.
Armstrong Spallumcheen Parks and Recreation helped move Abbate's monster pumpkin.
"We are really excited that the biggest pumpkin in B.C. now is from our area," said Patti Noonan, festival coordinator. "And especially that it was grown by Jordan Abbate who has brought his pumpkin here for more than 10 years."
Armstrong Spallumcheen Chamber of Commerce board president Madison Reynolds said the organization wasn't sure what the future of the weigh-in would be when the event started 20 years ago.
"We encourage everyone to think about growing a pumpkin for next year's competition," said Reynolds. "Who knows, we might have a 1,500 pound pumpkin in 2025. We live in the heart of a farming area."
