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Plan for Air-Powered Cannons and Trebuchets at Delaware's 'Punkin Chunkin'

There’s only a few weeks until we discover who will be crowned this year’s lord of the gourd, as the World Championship Punkin Chunkin competition is set to hit the skies from November 4-6. Each year there are more and more pumpkins serving as projectiles—as well as machinery dedicated to launching the orange orbs—so this might be the best year yet.

Unfortunately registration to launch your own pumpkin is now closed, but that’s fine with us as it’s probably better to just enjoy being a spectator. The main events take place where they always do—Bridgeville, Delaware—and the fun starts each day at around 7:30am. There’s live music, fireworks, and even a chili cook-off, but obviously the main attraction are the weapons of mass pumpkin destruction.

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Set Your Pumpkins Flying This Weekend at Delaware's Punkin Chunkin

If you’ve got a leftover pumpkin taking up space on your front steps or fire escape, we’ve got a suggestion on where to bring it. The annual Punkin Chunkin is taking place this weekend in Bridgeville, Delaware. There will be pumpkin recipes contests here—after all who can resist some pie—but the festival’s stars will be hundreds of devices attempting to launch pumpkins as far as possible.

This is the 25th anniversary of the festival, so expect teams to be even more prepared than usual. Not only will there be air-powered cannons, but there will be catapults as well as medieval replica trebuchets. The overall distance record is still standing from 2008—an air cannon shot a poor little pumpkin over 4,400 feet—so we’re hoping that this year someone can break the mile marker with their pumpkin launcher.

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Pay Your Last Respects To Your Pumpkin During 'Punkin Chunkin'

Halloween is a great time for pumpkins as they are the stars of the show. However, after their big day, things go down hill pretty quickly. One of the worst places for a pumpkin, as it's where the globe is forced to meet its fate, is at the annual Punkin Chunkin events in Delaware. Here, teams compete to launch pumpkins as far as possible. These aren’t just simple slingshots, but are pretty complicated pieces of machinery and engineering. There are air-powered cannons, medieval trebuchets, and trusty catapults. Kids are even welcome to participate, just make sure that Mom and Dad don’t do all the work.

The air cannons are the coolest and probably most dangerous. The current world record was set at last year’s festival as a pumpkin was chucked 4483.51 feet. The other pumpkin launches do pretty well too, and you won’t be disappointed as the orange orbs are launched well over 2,000 feet into an open field. If you can’t make it to this year festival, don’t worry; you’ll be able to watch a replay of the day’s events on Thanksgiving night on the Science Channel.

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Fall Festivals Travel: Goodbye Pumpkin, Hello World Record

If you aren't excited for Halloween yet, then this just might do the trick. In just two weeks, the World Championship Punkin Chunkin gets underway in Delaware. Running through the holiday weekend, the festival finds a unique way to dispose of those extra pumpkins that weren't luckily enough to be carved.

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