Tue Feb 12 09:12:47 UTC 2019
With more than 85 (highly experienced) pumpkin growers getting ready to participate in the annual Giant Pumpkin Festival at the Heidelberg Showgrounds in the Western Cape on 8 and 9 March 2019, the competition is bound to be tough.
Often weighing in excess of 300kg, only time will tell whether the 2019 king of the pumpkin patch will also break the current South African record of 556kg, set by Hugo le Roux in March 2017.
Giant pumpkins can be entered right up until the day of the competition (9 March), just before the official weigh-in commences at 16:00. Entrants stand a chance of winning their share of R35 000 in cash prizes. Additional prize money will also be awarded should the winning pumpkin set a new South African and/or world record, plus there are prizes up for grabs for the prettiest and ugliest pumpkins.
Special hand-selected pumpkin seeds from Dill’s Atlantic Giant- bred especially for size and not treated or genetically modified in any way - are supplied by Shoprite and Checkers to competition entrants.
Piet Lotz from Riversdale was crowned the 2018 champion at the 8th annual Giant Pumpkin Festival with his pumpkin weighing in at an astounding 532,4kg. Although still far from the 1190.49kg world record set by Mathias Willemijns (Belgium) in October 2016, hopes of smashing the South African record at the Heidelberg Giant Pumpkin Festival is high with the number of competition entries increasing every year.
Shoprite and Checkers have been a proud sponsor of the competition for the past eight years and continue to support local communities in order to help them grow and develop. In keeping with Heidelberg’s strong community spirit, all proceeds from the festival will be ploughed back into the town.
The Heidelberg Pumpkin Festival is a one-of-a-kind event for the entire family. This year’s activities include a MTB race, trail run, golf competition, bowling competition, 4X4 challenge, potjiekos competition and live music.
For more information, visit www.pumpkinfestival.co.za