TUALATIN, Ore. — Hoisting his kayak paddle in the air triumphantly, Gary Kristensen celebrated as he crossed the finish line, victorious in his giant, floating pumpkin.
Dressed up as the character Buddy from Will Ferrell’s holiday movie “Elf,” Kristensen won the first race in the annual event over the weekend in Tualatin, Ore. The Portland suburb has hosted the West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta since 2004, drawing large crowds who cheer on costumed participants as they race around a small human-made lake in humongous pumpkins that have been carved out, allowing them to float.
“You’ve got an exciting activity that crowds love, you’ve got the costumes, cheering people, spectacle, pumpkins sinking, it has everything,” Kristensen said after emerging victorious in the first race of Sunday’s event in a 936-pound pumpkin.
For Kristensen, who has competed in the regatta since 2013, the activity has become much more than a once-annual affair. Earlier this year, he claimed a Guinness World Record for longest journey by pumpkin boat after paddling some 58 miles on the Columbia River — breaking the record he had set the previous year.
The niche endeavor has also become a passion for Brad Bahns, who participated in his fourth regatta dressed up as a character from the TV series “Squid Game.” He described the fun in growing his own pumpkin — which took six months — and “getting to culminate the season by putting it in the lake and paddling with our friends.”
At 1,376 pounds, the weight of his pumpkin this year marked a personal record for him.
“It’s kind of an addiction at this point,” he said.
In the early morning rain, before the races got underway, workers operated fork lifts and heavy machinery to lift the enormous pumpkins and transfer them to the water. Growers and competitors then wielded saws and knives to cut a hole in the top of their pumpkins, and scooped out the goopy insides with spoons, scrapers and their bare hands so that they could sit inside.
The more innards that are removed, the lighter the pumpkin becomes, giving its captain a competitive edge by allowing swifter travel. By the time the carving was done, there were enough discarded seeds and pulp to fill a dumpster.
Members of the Pacific Giant Vegetable Growers, who grow the pumpkins for the regatta, were the competitors in the first race. On its website, the gardening association describes itself as “focused on the fun-filled, competitive hobby of growing obscenely large vegetables.”
Aboard pumpkins of differing orange and yellow hues, their costumes varied from celebrity chef Guy Fieri and a UPS delivery man with cardboard boxes stacked on the back of his pumpkin, to Elvis and a person in a hot dog suit. Someone dressed up as Luigi, the character from Nintendo’s Mario games with a trademark green cap and shirt, had a green pumpkin to match.
In another race, a participant wore a Shrek costume and green face paint, mirroring some fans in the crowd who also dressed up as the lovable ogre from the popular films.
When asked what it takes to grow a massive pumpkin, Kristensen shared his simple recipe for success: “Good seeds, good soil, good luck, hard work.”
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