At this Tualatin, Oregon fall tradition it’s gourd big or gourd home.
The lake you see when you enterTualatin , Oregon , is man - made , and about 9 - feet deep at its max . It ’s wall by a sonsie walk path , which is scatter with benches . In the summertime there are moving-picture show screenings and concert on the grass , and on Fridays , a farmers market .
By all accounts it ’s an idyllic assemblage place in this residential district , about 30 minute south ofPortland . But once a year , every October , it goes out of its calabash .
Since 2004 for one fall day the Tualatin Commons Lake is filled with float Cucurbita Maxima , or Atlantic Giant Pumpkins . These bellying , massive , clumsy beasts — sometimes weigh over 1200 lbs — are cut up and transformed into float body of water vessels . They ’re pilot by pilots dressed like lobster , muscular superheroes , chickens , and popes .
Photo by Eric Hermann, Courtesy of the City of Tualatin
This is theWest Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta , which celebrate its twentieth day of remembrance on October 20 . come up for the race , but remain forthe fete , wherethere ’s alsoa 5 K run , a autumn pumpkin selfie post , Cucurbita pepo carving demonstrations , pumpkin chess , pumpkin vine bowling , pumpkin tic tac toe , and more .
If you cerebrate your hometown gloam festival was big on pumpkins , this place run low bigger . Literally .
Tualatin is not the first cityto come up with this wacky thought . In fact , this particular iteration was inspired by Nova Scotia ’s Windsor Pumpkin Regatta . That one , establish in 1999 and now defunct , got so well - known that at one pointMartha Stewart was on the docketto come through and paddle a gourd of her own ( she was stopped before even getting on the planer – something about Canadian visa complication stem from her felony charge ) .
Photo by Evan Marx, Courtesy of the City of Tualatin
A group of northwest giant vegetable hobbyist called The Pacific West Coast Growers caught farting of the Nova Scotia regatta . During the class their season consists of raise all fashion of “ obscenely large ” vegetables admit watermelons and squash , for weigh - offs and just plain showing off . But after what ’s sleep together as the Terminator Weigh - Off caps off the season , they have no more manipulation for the uneatable autumn pumpkin . Some will compost them , ordonate them to the Portland zoo for the elephants to smash . But now there was a new idea : They could bucket along them in a lake . They reached out to the city of Tualatin and the West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta was born .
“ I think it ’s kind of one of those bucket inclination issue that people need to go to and have . ”
The first regatta in 2004 was just the jumbo vegetable partizan and their families . Today 20,000 citizenry descend onto the town of Tualatin for a glimpse of the spectacle , almost double its population of 28,000 . “ I get phone calls from people from all over the state asking when it ’s die to be and where they should stay , ” say Heidi Marx , event coordinator for the urban center . “ I intend it ’s kind of one of those bucketful listing events that people want to go to and experience . ”
Wesley Lapointe/AFP/Getty Images
Today there are regattas inWisconsin , Maine , New Hampshire , Minnesota , and more . The Tualatin regatta has even advance participants to test their Cucurbita pepo paddling skills elsewhere . Last weekend one appendage of the PWCG , residential valuator and multiple regatta winner Gary Kristensenbroke the reality recordfor the utmost distance paddled in a pumpkin vine ( It ’s still unofficial until they satisfactorily document it for Guinness World Records ) . The old record was 38.4 miles . Kristensen totter a walloping 46 mi , end up in Vancouver , Washington .
When choosing a backwash - worthy pumpkinto carve into a boat , the idealistic weight unit is between 600 and 800 pounds . You may remember you need a massive 1200 pestle , but Marx says it in reality makes things more difficult . “ Once they get above 800 hammer , it is really challenging to move , ” she says . “ We usually give the ace that are over 1000 pounds a minute of a chief start . ” The top three pumpkin vine of the time of year are n’t really eligible : after the Terminator Weigh - Off they ’re on showing for photo opportunity .
All the pumpkin for the races are still provided by the Pacific West Coast Growers . Most agriculturalist in the northwest start grow their pumpkins around tax day , April 15 . They start indoors , under a grow light , before remove them outside . The pumpkin get pollinated in June or July and within 100 days are large enough to sit in . For the regatta Marx send a request to the club for donations and takes the first 20 deemed seaworthy . In income tax return the agriculturalist get $ 175 , a regatta liothyronine - shirt , and a catered lunch .
Wesley Lapointe/AFP/Getty Images
The respectable way of life to carve a giant Cucurbita pepo gravy boat is to get going in the water — that ’s the leisurely way to notice their nub of gravity . Pumpkins are plopped into the lake by a crane , and the PVPG owner - members are the ones to carve them . “ The seed are what ’s most valuable to them , because the seeded player are what grow the giant autumn pumpkin , ” say Marx . “ So they want to check that that they harvest their own germ for their Cucurbita pepo . ”
The carvers will spin them and sometimes flip them to get the best slant for float . It ’s not always as simple as cutting the top off , suppose Marx . Once they determine the best floating position they apply a saw to cut a hole , and lift out out the insides . Then all that ’s left is to hop in . Depending on the sizing of the kettle of fish , some multitude put down back like a La - Z - Boy . But most people choose to kneel .
This year there will be about 75 entrant paddle their way around the quarter - mile course , which takes about 20 minutes . Not all of them will make it to the ending . Some race jump out and give up . “ Then they just drag their Cucurbita pepo back to the starting lineage , ” articulate Marx . And some pumpkins take on water and swallow hole . “ If they ’re locomote tight and the paddle are move back and forth , water slosh in there , and the autumn pumpkin starts to get intemperate and backbreaking , ” says Marx . “ If they ’re not paying attention to where the water is come in , that ’s unremarkably how the pumpkin ends up sinking , or bung over . ” An opprobrious end , to be certain , but that ’s a risk you take when parachute in a massive , float pumpkin .
If you ’re in the sphere during festival season , verify to cut up out some time to see it for yourself .
