| S.F.
Bay Area - California
Half Moon Bay, CA
Half Moon Bay Attractions
Pumpkin
Trivia
— Pumpkin Patch Facts
— Halloween Trivia Game
Pumpkin Patch Facts
Did you know?
... a pumpkin is really a squash?
It is! It's a member of the Cucurbita family which includes squash and cucumbers.
... that pumpkins are grown all over
the world?
Six of the seven continents can grow pumpkins, including Alaska. Antarctica is the only continent that they won't grow in.
... that the Irish brought this tradition
of pumpkin carving to America?
The tradition originally started with the carving of turnips. When the Irish immigrated to the U.S., they found pumpkins to be plentiful and they were much easier to carve for their ancient holiday.
Fun Facts About the Pumpkin
- Pumpkins contain Potassium
and Vitamin A
- Pumpkin flowers are edible
- The largest pumpkin pie ever made was over five feet in diameter and weighed over 350 pounds. It used 80 pounds of cooked pumpkin, 36 pounds of sugar, 12 dozen eggs... and took six hours to bake
- In early colonial times, pumpkins were used as an ingredient for the crust of pies, not the filling
- The largest pumpkin ever grown weighed 1,810.5 pounds — however, it's only a matter of time before that number increases
- Pumpkins were once recommended for removing freckles and curing snake bites
- The Connecticut field variety
is the traditional American pumpkin
- Pumpkins are 90 percent water
- Eighty percent of the pumpkin supply in the United States is available in October
- Native Americans flattened strips of pumpkins, dried them and made mats
- Native Americans called pumpkins "isqoutm squash"
- Native Americans used pumpkin seeds for food and medicine
- California ranks #2 in the nation in pumpkins — Illinois is #1
- There are 5,500 acres of pumpkins planted in California. The leading counties are San Mateo, San Joaquin, Sacramento, Venture and Stanislaus
- California produces 15% of the nation's total pumpkin crop
- Over 700 farms and ranches are involved in agritourism, creating an environment that brings city people to visit the country
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Pumpkin Trivia
The winner of the very first Half Moon Bay Championship Weigh-Off in 1974 was
a 132-pound pumpkin by John Minaidis of Half Moon Bay.
In 1991, the Champion Pumpkin weighed in at
a mere 602 pounds.
By 2008, Thad Starr's winning
Giant Pumpkin weighed in at an impressive 1,528 pounds. And in 2009, Don Young's Giant Pumpkin tipped the scales at a record-breaking 1,658 pounds — whatever
they're feeding these pumpkins, it seems to be working!
In 2011, two NEW California State Records were broken — Half Moon Bay had the 2nd and 3rd biggest pumpkins in the world! Leonardo Urena took Top Prize with his stunning 1,704-lb Giant Pumpkin.
Guinness World Records has confirmed that a huge pumpkin grown in Wisconsin is officially the world's heaviest. The gourd, grown in 2010 by Chris Stevens of New Richmond, tiped the scales at 1,810.5 pounds — 85 pounds heavier than the record set in Ohio in 2009 (a 1,725-pounder, grown by Christy Harp of Massillon, OH at a GPC Weigh-Off in Canfield, Ohio).
2010 was the biggest Half Moon Bay Championship Weigh-Off ever — over 13 pumpkins weighed in at over 1,000 pounds! Check out the winning pumpkin weights from over the years:
- 2011 - 1,704 lbs.
- 2010 - 1,535 lbs.
- 2009 - 1,659 lbs.
- 2008 - 1,528 lbs.
- 2007 - 1,524 lbs.
- 2006 - 1,223 lbs.
- 2005 - 1,229 lbs.
- 2004 - 1,229 lbs.
- 2003 - 1,180 lbs.
- 2002 - 1,173 lbs.
- 2001 - 1,016 lbs.
- 2000 - 940 lbs.
- 1999 - 991 lbs.
- 1998 - 974 lbs.
- 1997 - 868 lbs.
- 1996 - 808 lbs.
- 1995 - 875 lbs.
- 1994 - 696 lbs.
- 1993 - 740 lbs.
- 1992 - 722 lbs.
- 1991 - 602 lbs.
- 1990 - 544 lbs.
- 1989 - 530 lbs.
- 1988 - 432 lbs.
- 1987 - 429 lbs.
- 1986 - 526 lbs.
- 1985 - 438 lbs.
- 1984 - 612 lbs.
- 1983 - 408 lbs.
- 1982 - 307 lbs.
- 1981 - 337 lbs.
- 1980 - 275 lbs.
- 1979 - 349 lbs.
- 1978 - 298 lbs.
- 1977 - 200 lbs.
- 1976 - 208 lbs.
- 1975 - 273 lbs.
- 1974 - 132 lbs.
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10+ Halloween Costumes for Adults, Kids & Pets
Click to Buy Great Halloween Costumes and Party Supplies 
Halloween
Trivia Game
Make-your-own Pumpkin / Halloween Trivia Game and play it with your friends and family at your Halloween Party. Award prizes to the people who get the most answers right — FUN for kids and big kids too!
Half Moon Bay Attractions
Art & Pumpkin
Festival
Pumpkin
Weigh-Off
- 2010 Winners
- 2009 Winners
- 2008 Winners
- 2007 Winners
- Past Winners
Pumpkin Trivia |
