Travis Gienger of Anoka, Minn., reacts after winning the 50th annual Safeway World Championship pumpkin weigh-in on Monday, Oct. 9, 2023, in Half Moon Bay, Calif. Gienger won the event with a pumpkin weighing 2,749 pounds. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)Eric Risberg/Associated Press
The world’s largest pumpkin is named Michael Jordan and was grown in Anoka, Minnesota, and took first place Monday at the 50th annual Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay.
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Not only did the 2,749-pound pumpkin give grower Travis Gienger a $30,000 prize and a year of bragging rights, it also surpassed the world’s previous record pumpkin by 47 pounds.
The large pumpkin was named after “the greatest basketball player of all time” and is now the largest pumpkin of all time, Gienger said.
Gienger planted Michael Jordan on April 10 and spent about $15,000 caring for and feeding the pumpkin.
He picked it Saturday morning and then packed it into a truck for the sometimes harrowing journey to California.
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“It was pretty sketchy,” Gienger said. “It’s a 35-hour drive. Moose jump at you, motorcyclists cut you off, truckers, there are mountains.”
Travis Gienger of Anoka, Minnesota, holds his two-year-old daughter Lily and poses next to his pumpkin named “Michael Jordan” after winning the 50th annual Safeway World Championship pumpkin weigh-in on Monday, October 5, in Half Moon Bay, California has September 9, 2023. Gienger won the event with a pumpkin weighing 2749 pounds. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)Eric Risberg/Associated Press
And although Gienger, now a three-time pumpkin champion, knew he had an impressive pumpkin, he didn’t know how impressive it was until Monday because he never weighs his show produce before a competition.
“I don’t believe in that,” he said. “It will be what it will be and I want people to have a real reaction.”
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Michael Jordan, who weighs slightly less than the average adult female hippopotamus, will now headline the Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival at noon Saturday as the centerpiece of a parade.
It will also be on display for all to see along with the four heaviest pumpkins from the weigh-in October 14-15 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Main Street in Half Moon Bay.
“It was a spectacular day in Half Moon Bay and it will be a spectacular week, culminating in the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival,” said event organizer Tim Beeman.
As for what the new Pumpkin King plans to do with his winnings, Gienger said he plans to reinvest the money into another pumpkin growing project.
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“I can’t stop now,” he said.
However, his immediate future appears to be less difficult.
“We will have a farmer’s lunch and celebrate,” said Gienger.
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Travis Gienger of Anoka, Minn., holds his two-year-old daughter Lily and poses behind his pumpkin named “Michael Jordan” after winning the 50th annual Safeway World Championship pumpkin weigh-in on Monday, Oct. 50, in Half Moon Bay, Calif has September 9, 2023. Gienger won the event with a pumpkin weighing 2749 pounds. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)Eric Risberg/Associated Press
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