Thousands turn out in Northern California for Giant Pumpkin Festival
ELK GROVE - Thousands are flocking to Elk Grove Park this weekend for the annual Elk Grove Giant Pumpkin Festival. CBS13's Sakura Gray introduced us to some of the growers showcasing their months of hard work.
Pumpkins and produce that weigh more than they do...
"My mom and my dad are helping me with the watermelon, and I cannot pick it up by myself," said Jack Patterson, a watermelon grower.
"You know they're quite comical trying to measure these things because they're so big, and they can't get around them all," said Katie Patterson, Jack and McKinley's mom.
McKinley Patterson fittingly named her massive pumpkin "Garfield."
"I thought that he would be like bright orange and really round and plump like Garfield's stomach because he eats so much," said McKinley.
She and her brother Jack have spent months tending to their gargantuan gourds.
"The vines smelled like vomit almost. We had to use this fertilizer; it almost smelled like cow manure," she said.
For 29 years, giant-pumpkin growers from across California have competed in Elk Grove for the weigh-off. As their prized possessions hit the scale, the rest of the park is filled with food trucks, music, and carnival rides.
"A lot of the crowd are family and friends of the growers, so they've been watching the process all summer, so they're very excited to see what money they'll win and what the weight will end up being on the scale," said Jenna Brinkman, Public Affairs Manager, Cosumnes Community Services District.
The winner of the weigh-in takes home a whopping $7,000.
But for Katie Patterson, seeing the reaction to her kids' hard work is an even greater reward.
"We've all fallen in love with it. It's so fun going down the highway, people waving, taking pictures, thumbs up... it just brings joy, and we get to spend time in the garden together as a family for six long months," said Patterson.
The festival continues on Sunday in Elk Grove Park from 10 am to 5 p.m.
Those giant pumpkins will be carved into canoes and raced across the lake starting at noon.
