MILLVILLE — A world record fell and a local record was shattered during Saturday’s annual giant pumpkin contest at the Millville Community Centre.
John MacKinnon of Strathlorne established the new world record when his 181 pound field pumpkin bested all other competitors. MacKinnon had set that record last year with a 162 pound pumpkin.
In the giant pumpkin category Carl Graham of Donkin broke his own local record and gave the world mark a run with an 1,811 whopper.
“I set out this year to set a Nova Scotia record and here I am a couple pounds short of a world record so I am just thrilled to death,” said Graham who set the local record in 2010 with a 1,280 pound pumpkin.
“It felt great, especially when they said the pumpkin was sound. It was a big concern all season. The blossoms grew over and I couldn’t reach it to work on it.”
Entering the competition Graham had thought his pumpkin could be over 1,900 pounds. His entry was short of that weight, but he is still in line for a trip to New York as part of The Great Pumpkin Commonwealth contest that recognizes the three heaviest pumpkins of the season.
The only two heavier so far, including the world record holder of more than 2,000 pounds, were both grown in Rhode Island this year.
If his pumpkin remains in third place it will be transported to New York, sculpted by a carver and put on display.
Although happy about taking home top local honours, Graham’s victory didn’t come without much drama. His pumpkin was so large that the forklift on hand couldn’t initially lift it off the trailer used to transport it from Donkin to Millville.
Several very tricky maneuvers followed before the pumpkin safely made its way to the scale.
As for MacKinnon he not only was the field pumpkin winner, his giant pumpkin entry of 1,356.5 pounds was second only to Graham’s on Saturday.
The seasoned pumpkin grower is quite happy with both accomplishments.
“It is nice to hold a world record for sure,” MacKinnon said. “I put a lot of time and effort into it so it is nice to have a little accomplishment at the end of the day.”
Cape Breton weather, he said, makes for difficult pumpkin growing conditions so he believes all entrants should be proud of their showings on Saturday.
“I thought this was one of the most exciting days I’ve seen in Millville ever. I’ve been here quite a bit and to see the size of the giant pumpkins that were weighed in here was quite impressive. I never thought we’d seen an 1,800 pound pumpkin on Cape Breton Island.”
Not only was Saturday’s competition a chance for pumpkin growers to strut their stuff, the event was also a fundraiser for the Millville Community Association.
In excess of 400 people attended the event which meant a sold out canteen and plenty of funds to assist in various community projects.
