Giant Pumpkin Festival returns to Sault Ste. Marie
Sault Ste. Marie's Giant Pumpkin Festival made its return Saturday. A scaled-down version of the Thanksgiving tradition brought a small, but enthusiastic, crowd to the Robert Bondar Pavilion downtown.
One by one, contestants taking part in the Giant Pumpkin Festival competition brought in their entries to be weighed. In the end, Sault Ste. Marie's Kieran O'Neill came out the big winner with a 770-pound pumpkin.
"Well, it's a lot of water and a lot of fertilizer," said O'Neill. "There is some technique to it. You have to start it early, you've got to greenhouse it, you've got to set the pumpkin by hand, and you've got to make sure you fertilize it and water it and watch the weather as it goes. And a lot comes down to luck."
O'Neill said you don't need a giant property to grow a giant pumpkin – he grew his in the backyard.
"It's a little lot in the middle of the city, so this is a suburban pumpkin," he said. "This was grown in the City of Sault Ste. Marie. So it is possible to grow them this big."
Jeff Marshall, organizer of the festival, said like most events in the last year, this one had to be downsized due to public health restrictions.
"Oh, we would have storytime, restaurants would have a taste-off, so all that sort of stuff had to go by the wayside this year," said Marshall, who hopes the full event will return next year.
As for O'Neill, he has plans for his prize-winning pumpkin.
"We're actually going to carve it tomorrow into a giant Jack-o-Lantern, and we're going to stand it up on its end and we'll put lights in it," said O'Neill. "People can enjoy it as they drive by."
O'Neill says his 77- pound pumpkin is not the largest he's grown. He said he grew a 1,100-pound pumpkin one season – and he plans on breaking that record next year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trudeau acknowledges charges in Nijjar killing, calls for commitment to democracy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Princess Anne lays wreath at B.C. veteran's cemetery; receives 21-gun salute
Princess Anne paid tribute to veterans buried at a cemetery in British Columbia today, laying a wreath to honour the more than 2,500 military personnel and family members buried there.
Mystik Dan wins the 150th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in a three-horse photo finish
Mystik Dan won the 150th Kentucky Derby in a photo finish, edging out Forever Young and Sierra Leone for the upset victory.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.