Third Annual Skagit Valley Giant Pumpkin Festival
Name:
Third Annual Skagit Valley Giant Pumpkin Festival
Date:
September 28, 2013
Time:
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM PDT
Event Description:
Come be amazed at the big-bellied, absurdly misshapen pumpkins that will be lined up at Christianson’s Nursery for weigh-off at the Third Annual Skagit Valley Giant Pumpkin Festival on Saturday, Sept. 28.
$1,000 goes for the biggest pumpkin, and cash prizes will be awarded to each of the next nine top pumpkins.
Other fun events during the day include:
- Exhibition area to show off other giant vegetables and sunflowers from home and pumpkins grown by children
- “Bats Incredible!” a free talk by Kathleen Bander of Bats Northwest (11 a.m.; reservations requested at 360-466-3821)
- Harvest food by the Edison cafe Tweets (plenty of garden picnic spots on site)
- Toad races
- Pony rides by Lang’s Traveling Ponies and face painting (for a small charge)
- Family carnival games
- Live music by Laurel Bliss and John Clark
- Christianson’s farm animals – llamas, sheep, bunnies, chickens, doves and fantail pigeons
Last year’s giant pumpkin winner weighed 1,281.5 pounds and its vine in the garden took up a space of 800 square feet (grown by Joel Holland of Sumner). A state-record giant cabbage also was on display at the festival with a weight of 42 pounds (grown by Dean Biss of Skagit County).
This year has so far been a spectacular growing year: Mount Vernon has been warmer this year than last (there have been 970 growing degree days through Aug. 1 in 2013 compared with 723 to that date in 2012, according to WSU AGWeatherNet). Jumbo crops are on the way!
Entry forms for the giant pumpkin weigh-off are available at Christianson’s Nursery or on its website, www.christiansonsnursery.com.
Schedule of events for Saturday, Sept. 28
9 a.m. – 1 p.m. Entries for pumpkin weigh-off accepted; also accepting giant cabbages and other veggies, sunflowers and children’s pumpkins for exhibition
11 a.m. – noon “Bats Incredible!” talk about Northwest bats and bat-friendly gardening by Kathleen Bander of Bats Northwest. Free; reservations requested (360-466-3821)
11 a.m. – 3 p.m. Tweets cafe serves Tastes of the Harvest food
Noon – 2 p.m. Musicians Laurel Bliss and John Clark play Old-time, Cajun and bluegrass
1 – 3 p.m. Pony rides with Lang’s Traveling Ponies, face painting, carnival games (free), toad races (free) and more
2 – 4 p.m. Giant pumpkin weigh-off
4 p.m. Winners announced
Prizes given for giant pumpkins
1st $1,000
2nd $400
3rd $250
4th $100
5th $75
6th $50
7th $50
8th $25
9th $25
10th $25
