HALF MOON BAY, Calif. – Nick Kennedy, a project manager working in San Francisco, juggles family life with his two young kids and dedicates a significant amount of time to cultivating enormous pumpkins, often working in the garden until the late hours of the night.

“It’s truly a full-time commitment,’’ remarks the 37-year-old. “It’s akin to raising children.’’

His hard work bore fruit last year when Kennedy and his partner Ron Root achieved a California record with a staggering 2,497-pound pumpkin at the Half Moon Bay World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off, which will take place again on Monday, kicking off the town’s famous pumpkin and art festival.

This competition, one of many across the U.S., is referred to as the Super Bowl of pumpkin contests, attracting contestants from across the West Coast, in part due to the lucrative prizes provided by title sponsor Safeway: $9 per pound for the top pumpkin or a $30,000 bonus for setting a world record. Last year, Kennedy and Root earned $4,000 for their second-place finish.

But what motivates these adults to forego other pursuits to pour their energy into growing pumpkins that could astonish even Charlie Brown and the Peanuts characters?

The growers insist it’s about much more than money, even though award-winning pumpkins might sell for up to $2 per pound after competitions, typically to fairs or hotels that wish to showcase them as seasonal attractions.

“It’s a hobby that demands significant investment,’’ stated Root, a former champion of the Half Moon Bay contest. “We spend thousands each year to maintain our patch. While any recovery is helpful, I’m not in it for the profits. Attempting to profit from this hobby would most likely lead to losses.”

Kennedy and Root Achieve Success with ‘Pohaku’

Root, 64, turned to pumpkin growing as a way to enjoy nature, especially after a workplace injury ended his career with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office. Although he stopped competing before meeting Kennedy in 2021, Kennedy sought him out for guidance to grow a pumpkin patch for his son, who is now 7.

Both men come from families that enjoyed gardening and share a deep passion for it, even though they don’t grow commercially. They’ve combined Root’s extensive knowledge with Kennedy’s tech-savvy approach to optimize aspects like soil moisture and nutrient levels.

“Growing giant pumpkins feels similar to bodybuilding; they look like they’re on steroids,’’ Kennedy joked.

The duo works year-round, only taking December off as they raise various pumpkins at their Sacramento County patch, where each pumpkin can gain an impressive 60-70 pounds daily.

They realized they had a remarkable entry for last year’s Half Moon Bay competition when their pumpkin stood out significantly, much like the tallest among four brothers. Its dimensions—7 feet long, 6½ feet wide, and about 45 inches high—were compared to that of a Smart car, which measures around 8½ feet long, 5½ feet wide, and 61 inches high.

Named Pohaku, which means “rock” in Hawaiian, this pumpkin surpassed the previous California record by nearly 200 pounds, placing second to the world record of 2,749 pounds set by Minnesota’s three-time champion Travis Gienger.

Root recounted seeing numerous photos online taken by onlookers admiring Pohaku on their drive to the weigh-off.

“It’s an incredible feeling,’’ he reflected. “When you’re driving a massive pumpkin to the contest, the number of people taking pictures or cheering is just amazing.”

Giant Pumpkins: A Tradition Dating Back to the 1800s

Jack La Rue, a former competitor who now serves as a historian and statistician for the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth—the governing body for such contests—indicated that the quest for record-breaking pumpkins has roots dating back to the late 19th century.

During the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris, William Warnock established the recognized record at 400 pounds, which he improved by three pounds in 1904. That record held for 72 years until Bob Ford shattered it with a pumpkin weighing 451 pounds. The pumpkin craze gained significant momentum in 1980 when Canadian grower Howard Dill set one of his three world records with a heft of 459 pounds after he developed the famous Dill’s Atlantic Giant seeds.

Half Moon Bay’s weigh-off began in 1974, in a friendly rivalry with Circleville, Ohio, for the unofficial title of pumpkin capital of the world.

While competition has grown fiercer, La Rue continues to regard Half Moon Bay as the premier contest, especially since it hosted the current world record set by Gienger.

“Currently, Half Moon Bay is recognized for weighing the heaviest pumpkins on average at a single venue,” La Rue mentioned.

This small coastal town, home to 11,000 residents and located just under 30 miles south of San Francisco, transforms into a vibrant hub each October leading up to Halloween.

The giant pumpkin contest begins activities on Columbus Day, with a weekend festival that has gained recognition for the town. Now in its 52nd year, the festival attracts tens of thousands of visitors, many of whom are excited to take photos with the enormous pumpkins.

Huge: Pumpkin festival draws visitors from everywhere

Nicole Lopes and Brittanie Bretao, who assist their husbands in managing the local Farmer John’s pumpkin patch, start witnessing the arrival of giant pumpkins by truck the Sunday prior to the competition and can’t help but be amazed by their size.

“Wow, they’re enormous,” Lopes exclaimed. “It’s incredible to witness since it requires a lot of hard work to cultivate them.”

“They seem much larger in person than on television,” added Bretao, mentioning that while the festival leads to traffic jams and crowded streets—an inconvenience for locals—it also generates an exciting atmosphere.

“We get visitors from Europe and Australia who have heard about the festival, coming for the pumpkins and seasonal activities,” she stated.

This influx is beneficial for business, according to Bobby Marsh, whose father started what is now Bob’s Pumpkin Farm by selling pumpkins on the roadside as a child in the mid-1950s. Back then, the only two pumpkin farmers in town just used their crops for animal feed. He recognized a market need when people frequently inquired about buying them for personal use.

“I was the coolest kid in school because I had money,” he reminisced with a grin.

The pumpkin patches he contributed to have turned into a popular attraction for families from nearby areas looking for entertainment for their children—whether that’s enjoying hayrides, playing in cornstalk mazes, or climbing hay bales—while also gathering Halloween decorations.

“It’s a lot of fun! We really love it,” shared Mark Lyubovitsky from Redwood City, who visited Farmer John’s patch with his wife and preschool kids for the third consecutive year. “Half Moon Bay is fantastic. They do an amazing job with the festival—making it lively, fun, and very family-oriented. Plus, it’s a stunning natural backdrop, so picturesque.”

“Have you ever grown a 2,500-pound pumpkin?”

The longstanding weigh-off, now over fifty years old, draws growers from across the nation and beyond, but mostly as spectators rather than participants due to the challenges of transporting massive pumpkins.

Gienger, who hopes to set another world record this Monday, often hears from people in his hometown of Anoka, Minnesota, questioning why he would travel over 2,000 miles and spend 35 hours driving to Half Moon Bay.

In addition to the special treatment he receives from the event organizers, Gienger enjoys the challenge of surpassing his previous achievements, despite the fact that he could have lost $5,000 if he hadn’t won last year.

“You don’t invest an entire summer’s worth of effort without wanting to beat your last performance,” Gienger remarked. “That’s what motivates me.”

Gienger, at 43 years old, has taught horticulture at Anoka Technical College for over a decade. He mentioned that he employs a unique method compared to other growers in terms of how he nourishes and hydrates his pumpkins. He cultivates only two pumpkins each year on a 1-acre lot behind his home and selects his contest entry early on.

Gienger developed his passion for giant pumpkins at a young age, growing a 447-pound pumpkin when he was around 13 or 14. After all these years of experience, he prefers to rely on his hard-earned knowledge rather than modern techniques.

“I know some growers use soil moisture meters and various technologies, but I don’t do that as much as I probably should,” Gienger admitted. “I had someone suggest that I needed more nitrogen, which is appreciated. But have you ever grown a 2,500-pound pumpkin?”