Budding superstar grower Thad Starr obliterated the Half Moon Bay record by nearly 300 pounds last year at the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off with a leviathan 1,524-pound Atlantic Giant. Starr returns this year to take on the World's Greatest Gourd Growers in Half Moon Bay's Heavyweight Championship on Monday, October 12, the kick-off to Half Moon Bay’s world-famous Art & Pumpkin Festival which takes place October 17-18.

Thad Starr celebrates his record-breaking win Starr with his gargantuan gourd Starr shares his growing secrets with the media

For the first time in its storied 35-year history, Half Moon Bay’s Pumpkin Weigh-Off will serve as an officially sanctioned Great Pumpkin Commonwealth (GPC) site. The GPC is the major sanctioning body overseeing Giant Pumpkin growing competitions with more than seventy weigh-off locations throughout the world. “Our relationship with the GPC will give pumpkin growers added incentive to bring their biggest to Half Moon Bay and puts us in the mix for a potential world record,” said Jack Olsen, Director of the Half Moon Bay weigh-off. “Giant pumpkin growers bring extraordinary dedication and enthusiasm to their craft and we’re delighted to support and be part of their organization,” said Olsen.

As the sun rises on weigh-off morning, the streets around town will be lined with sagging pick up trucks crammed with massive pumpkins quietly awaiting their place of destiny in the worldwide media spotlight or the Libby's canning factory. Their giant roots will be firmly planted in buckets of water to prevent weight-loss as fans ooh and aah at the sheer, stunning enormity of the monster orbs. Using forklifts and special harnesses, the gargantuan gourds will be carefully placed on a 5-ton capacity, industrial-strength digital scale under the watchful eye of officials from the San Mateo County Agricultural Commissioner's Office of Weights, Sealers, and Measures.

Some eighty contestants from throughout the west are expected to contend for the coveted title, a starring role in the Pumpkin Festival and the lions share of the prize money. With a hefty top prize of $6 per pound at stake, the pay-by-the-pound system is expected to produce first place prize money of nearly $10,000. In all, about $20,000 in prize money will be awarded to the top ten heaviest overall and the top three heaviest from San Mateo County. Special prize money will be awarded to the heaviest pumpkins from California, the Half Moon Bay Coastside, and the San Mateo County Farm Bureau. Beauty will share the spotlight with brawn. A special $500 prize will be awarded to the “most beautiful pumpkin” as judged by the audience based on color, shape and size.

The official weighing will take place on Monday, October 12 from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. on the I.D.E.S. Grounds, 735 Main Street. The champion pumpkin, along with the top five pumpkins overall, will be on display at the Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival on October 17-18 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For information on the weigh-off, call 650-726-9652 or check out http://www.miramarevents.com/weighoff/facts.html