Hundreds of people lined the St. Croix River to watch four “pilots” race down the river in giant, hollowed out pumpkins Sunday.

The Pumpkin Regatta at the 21st annual Stillwater Harvest Fest is one of only a few across the country. This year, the weather was especially favorable for viewing and racing.

Stillwater native Tim Brown, who has competed every year for the last decade, took home the first place trophy for the third time.

“I think the first time I won was in 2016 so to be able to do it in my mid-40s is pretty cool,” Brown said.

The regatta is a family affair for Brown who was competing alongside his cousin and past winner, Matthew Schmidt.

“Happy to beat my cousin — that’s the biggest goal,” said Brown.

For first-time racer, Laura Fairchild, it was less about winning and more about honoring her son, Justin Ross Fairchild who served in the U.S. Army and died in 2007.

No matter who took home the trophy, though, the four racers all walked away with a unique experience — and perspective into what it takes to navigate a giant pumpkin down a river.

“It’s not as easy as it looks,” Brown said. “Who would’ve thought a pumpkin could float and be paddled?”

A growing get-together

The Stillwater Harvest Fest began as a giant pumpkin weigh-off more than 20 years ago. It’s since grown into a two-day event that now includes live music, food trucks, vendors and, of course, the regatta.

Cassie McLemore, director of events for Summer Tuesday, Inc, says as the festival has gotten bigger — so have the pumpkins.

For perspective, in 2010, a pumpkin at the Stillwater Harvest Fest weighing around 1,800 pounds broke the world record for largest pumpkin. The largest pumpkin at the festival this year weighed-in at 2,305 pounds.

“[The St. Croix Growers Association] has a really robust group of growers that have been doing it a long time,” McLemore said. “They use the seeds from the year before to grow bigger pumpkins the next year.”

When the pumpkins used in the regatta were hollowed out before the race, event organizers shared the seeds with lucky spectators.

By this time next year, there will be a whole new crop of giant pumpkins to weigh and paddle in.

Collected from Minnesota Public Radio News. View original source here.