In the recently aired final season of How To with John Wilson — an HBO series that, in a very roundabout and humorous way, seeks to tackle some of life’s troublesome tasks — the titular filmmaker ended up at a giant pumpkin weigh-off in Connecticut. The episode, which started off as a guide to working out, veered into the “masculine urge to grow,” taking Wilson from interviewing swole humans at a bodybuilding competition to following a farmer trying to grow the largest gourd.
Viewers follow the pumpkin grower from his home to a field where his entry — which he lovingly cultivated over the course of 130 days — is lined up with other pumpkins and “the whole town comes out to look at them.”
“Everyone’s relationship with pumpkins was very uncomplicated,” says Wilson in a voiceover.
That Pittsburgh has its own tribute to enormous pumpkins only confirms that, no matter where they live, people can’t help but marvel at a 1,500-pound version of a usually 10-pound fruit. And when we’re done looking at them, we, apparently, want to see them smashed to bits.
The annual Pittsburgh Monster Pumpkins Festival — taking place this year from Sat., Oct. 21-Sun., Oct. 22 at The Stacks in the Strip District — demonstrates all the creative ways to enjoy the most popular symbol of the fall season. Of course, autumn brings fresh apples and colorful foliage, but you can’t carve them into a mammoth Shrek or hook them to a crane and drop them three stories to the delight of a crowd.
The Pittsburgh Monster Pumpkins Festival offers a more accessible celebration for the easily spooked, providing a respite among all the horror film screenings and haunted attractions put on in preparation for Halloween. That it’s free to attend doesn’t hurt either.
“The festival is a highly anticipated attraction for tens of thousands of people in western Pennsylvania and, really, the tri-state,” says Michael Dongilli of Vivid Pittsburgh, the organization that produces and manages the event. “It’s the perfect fun, family-friendly thing to do.”
The festival has since found an unlikely sponsor in the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, touted as the nation’s largest medical college. Vivid Pittsburgh claims that, through the support of LECOM, the organization was able to bring back the Costume Caper 5K Run/Walk, a popular festival component that was interrupted by the pandemic. Dongilli says the race features “several different dress-up categories” encouraging runners to wear their best getups for a chance to win various prizes.
“Having the title commitment and investment support of LECOM will allow us to continue to grow and confidently entrench the event,” says Dongilli.
In addition, festival crowds will find pumpkins artfully carved into various animals, glass-blowing demos, carriage rides, pie-eating contests, and more.
Vivid also partnered with WTAE and the Salvation Army to make the festival’s big pumpkin drop into a philanthropic effort. As described on the event’s website, visitors are able to purchase ping-pong balls that are then placed in an inflatable pool full of water. A 2,000-pound pumpkin is then dropped 140 feet into the pool, sending the balls flying — the owner of the farthest flying ball wins a Blackstone grill with all the accessories.
Pumpkin drop proceeds benefit Project Bundle-Up, an initiative described as providing cold weather gear — including coats, hats, gloves, and boots — to children and senior citizens “from low-income households” throughout western Pa.
Beyond the sheer entertainment of it all, the festival also positions the region’s dedication to finding and showcasing farming feats. Since its 2018 launch, the event has, according to a press release, set multiple world records, including for the largest jack-o-lantern ever carved (weighing in at 2,118 pounds), and for displaying the “heaviest grouping” of giant pumpkins at a single site, with a 10-pumpkin average weight of 2,032 pounds.
And there is, it seems, still room for growth (pun intended). For context, the current Guinness World Records title for heaviest pumpkin belongs to Stefano Cutrupi, a Tuscan farmer who produced a 2,702-pound beast that, in September 2021, was assessed and ratified at the Campionato della Zuccone festival in Peccioli, Italy. While notably large pumpkins have been grown all over the United States, the agricultural richness of western Pa. seems especially ready to harvest a champion — in 2022, for example, KDKA reported on a state record-breaking 2,405-pound pumpkin grown by a Westmoreland County family.
As How to with John Wilson certainly demonstrates, competitive pumpkin growers are always reaching for a personal best (the grower he follows actually beats his previous record). In terms of our fascination with monster pumpkins, a teen boy he questions puts it best, saying simply, “I think it’s pretty cool how big they are.”
Pittsburgh Monster Pumpkins Festival. Sat., Oct. 21-Sun., Oct. 22. The Stacks at 3 Crossings. 2875 Railroad St., Strip District. Free. monsterpumpkins.com
