World · North America · 5 hrs ago
Rocky wins California pumpkin contest at 2,389 pounds
Travis Gienger won the Half Moon Bay pumpkin weigh-off in California with a giant pumpkin named Rocky.
Rocky weighed 2,389 pounds, earning Gienger $21,501 and his fifth win at the annual contest.
Gienger, a horticulture teacher from Minnesota, missed last year’s contest after his pumpkin broke while growing.
A pumpkin in Rhode Island appears to have set a new world record days before the California contest, weighing 3,156 pounds.
That result has not yet been verified by Guinness World Records, which lists a 2,857-pound pumpkin as the record.
The contest is part of a decades-long tradition in Half Moon Bay, where hundreds gathered for the weigh-off and festival.
Rocky will be featured in a parade through Half Moon Bay this weekend, while Gienger says he may need a climate-controlled growing space to compete more seriously.
A pumpkin named Rocky won the 53rd World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, California, at 2,389 pounds.
Grower Travis Gienger won the contest for the fifth time and received $21,501 in prize money.
Gienger brought the pumpkin from Minnesota after missing the previous year’s contest when his pumpkin broke while growing.
Rocky was well short of a possible world record set days earlier in Rhode Island by a pumpkin weighing 3,156 pounds.
Gienger named his pumpkin after the boxer Rocky, hoping for a comeback story.
- Who
- Horticulture teacher Travis Gienger won with his pumpkin, Rocky.
- What
- Rocky won the World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off at 2,389 pounds.
- When
- The contest was held on Oct. 12, 2026.
- Where
- Half Moon Bay, California, south of San Francisco.
- Why
- Gienger named the pumpkin Rocky because he hoped for a comeback story after missing the previous year’s contest.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
A 2,857-pound pumpkin grown by Ian Paton set the Guinness-listed world record.
Ron Wallace’s pumpkin weighed 3,156 pounds at a New England contest, appearing to set a new world record pending verification.
Rocky won the World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay.
Gienger’s winning pumpkin was due to be showcased in a parade through Half Moon Bay.
- Winning pumpkin
- Rocky
- Weight
- 2,389 pounds (1,083 kilograms)
- Grower
- Travis Gienger of Minnesota
- Prize money
- $21,501
- Contest
- 53rd World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off, Half Moon Bay, California
What people are saying
Five-time champion, that's what we came here to do
My hat's off to him, that's a big pumpkin
The fact that Travis can weather the elements, like 30-degree weather, and still grow this massive pumpkin is pretty unbelievable
Sources
Related news
One dead and several injured in incident at Six Flags Over Georgia
Emergency response for Christa Pike delayed by confusion after failed execution
Duane Davis faces life sentence for Tupac Shakur murder
More Canadian snowbirds are choosing destinations outside the U.S
Isaias leaves four dead as Florida and Alabama clean up
Christa Pike returns to prison after surviving failed Tennessee execution
Trump says Russia will supply diesel as fuel prices surge
Coroner's inquest to examine death of Toronto woman who fell from balcony
Navi Pillay urges US to defend human rights amid ICC sanctions
Australia seeks to block online livestream of planned U.S. execution
Eight killed by gunman in Erie, Pennsylvania; shooter dies by suicide
