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

November 2, 2010 at 9:10 AM | by | Comments (0)

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.

Even though the air cannons seem to steal the show, the other equipment on display isn’t too shabby. Trebuchets and catapults have easily sent some of the orange gourds way over 2,000 feet, and these might even be more enjoyable to watch as you can probably still follow the pumpkin trajectory with the naked eye.

Entry into the pumpkin party is just $9 a person, but that will only get you into one day of the festival and there are no multi-day tickets. The weapons of mass pumpkin destruction run from November 5 through 7, and each day is packed with festival events; however, we’d probably go on Saturday as it seems like you get the most opportunities to experience live music, fireworks, and other stuff besides just all out pumpkin warfare.

Just like in years past, a crew from the Science Channel will be on hand to videotape every last pumpkin seed, as the weekend’s events will be broadcast on Thanksgiving night. It’s an option if you can’t make it to Delaware this year, but then you’ll miss out on the smell of pumpkins flying through the air.

[Photos from 2009: World Championship Punkin Chunkin Association]

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