At Half Moon Bay pumpkin festival, heavyweight title stays in the Bay Area

By Haven Daley and Olga R. Rodriguez | Associated Press

HALF MOON BAY — A North Bay engineer and gardening enthusiast won the top prize at an annual pumpkin-weighing contest in Northern California after growing a giant jack-o’-lantern gourd weighing 2,346 pounds.

Brandon Dawson, of Santa Rosa, clinched the victory Monday at the 52nd World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay.

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Dawson pumped his arms in the air and sat his two children on top of the giant pumpkin — roughly the same weight as a small sedan or a large bison — after being crowned this year’s winner.

“My mind is kind of racing because I was in this position last year when I lost by 6 pounds,” he said in an interview.

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Dawson, a manufacturing engineer at electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive, said he has been growing massive pumpkins for five years. Precision skills acquired at his job helped him with the right watering and sunlight to help his gourd grow, he said.

He said he enjoys getting his children involved in the process.

“We like to spend time out in the patch and watch the thing grow,” Dawson said about his 2-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter.

“My 4-year-old now can really pay attention to the growing process,” especially since the giant pumpkins can grow by 50 to 70 pounds (23 to 32 kilograms) a day, he added.

The pumpkin champ won a $20,000 prize for growing the biggest pumpkin.

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Dawson’s pumpkin was the runner up in last year’s contest at Half Moon Bay when the winning gourd grown by Minnesota horticulture teacher Travis Gienger came in at 2,471 pounds.

Gienger, of Anoka, Minnesota, set a world record at the California contest in 2023 for the heaviest pumpkin when his giant jack-o’-lantern gourd weighed 2,749 pounds. Gienger’s pumpkin was damaged earlier this season and he couldn’t enter this year’s contest in California.

Two brothers in England earlier this month broke Gienger’s record with a gourd that weighed 2,819 pounds.