The eighth annual Whonnock Giant Pumpkin Contest is set for Oct. 18

The eighth annual Whonnock Giant Pumpkin Contest is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 18, at Whonnock Lake. Pumpkins can be dropped off from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and the public can begin guessing their weights at 1 p.m. The weigh-off starts at 1:45 p.m. Zucchini and gourd entries will be accepted until 12:30 p.m. Vehicle traffic in the pumpkin area will stop at noon. Admission is free, and prizes are planned for growers and audience members. Organizer Joanne Halliday encouraged people to arrive early to guess the weights, visit the lakeside photo booth and enjoy free hot chocolate and cupcakes.

The contest is open to people who live in Maple Ridge, west of Stave Dam, in Stave Falls, or in a small part of west Mission. Entrants must have grown the item they submit. Pumpkin categories are under 50 pounds, 51 to 100 pounds, 101 to 200 pounds and 201 to 300 pounds, with first place in each; the over-300-pound category has first, second and third places. Other prizes include Crowd Favourite, Survivor, Biggest Zucchini and Coolest Other Gourd, as well as three prizes for guessing a pumpkin’s weight. The Survivor prize goes to a pumpkin that has survived a bear attack or another traumatic experience. Shaw said it is a crowd favourite. People with giant pumpkins can message Halliday directly through her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/joanne.halliday.2025

Halliday organizes the event with Pascale Shaw. Halliday said her household grew its biggest pumpkin yet this year, but it is being sent to a contest in the United States. They will bring another large pumpkin to Whonnock. Halliday and her husband, Trevor, have won six of the seven previous contests, but she noted that they started small. Their winning pumpkin weighed 109 pounds in the first year and 450 pounds in the second. The weights in subsequent winning years were 780, 1,400, 1,028 and 650 pounds; in one year, they did not have a pumpkin. Halliday said growing one takes hard work and a lot of experimentation. Shaw said the contest has several weight categories, so pumpkins of every size are welcome.