Media Release
August 14, 2020, Saugeen Shores, ON – Historically, Port Elgin Pumpkinfest, always the weekend before Thanksgiving, is the biggest and multiple award-winning festival in Bruce County, bringing over 30,000 visitors to our community and over 4.1 million dollars in economic impact each year.
Due to COVID19, there will be no public attendance or street festival allowed, but the Pumpkinfest team is working with a professional production company to bring the excitement and fun into your homes through a live webcast on www.pumpkinfest.org. on the Saturday, October 3rd and plans are well underway for the Cinderella’s Carriage ROLLING Car Show, sponsored by OLG on Sunday, October 4! This event can be enjoyed safely curbside throughout Saugeen Shores and the Grey/Bruce region as the cars roll by.
Although it may look a little different this year, the Port Elgin Pumpkinfest crew are committed to giving our community and supporters throughout North America something to celebrate in 2020. We see this as an opportunity to stage an online live event featuring our Bruce Power International Weigh Off, allowing our growers to have an International Official safe, social distancing site to bring their giant vegetables to be measured and weighed. The GVGO (Giant Vegetable Growers of Ontario) and GPC (Giant Pumpkin Commonwealth) have been extremely supportive of this consideration, as many smaller sites have been forced to cancel their weigh-offs, and strict record keeping is essential to their associations and possible World Record titles. We are hoping 2020 will bring some of those records home to Pumpkinfest!
While the live feed will bring you the action on Saturday October 3rd, pre-taped fun, such as our VIP seed-spitting, pumpkin carving, local decoration contest, on-line Car Show submissions, and the Harvest Star Search talent show entries and local musicians will be aired throughout the day as we move vegetables on and off the scales. Plans for airing a GIANT Bingo Saturday night and the social distancing Rolling Car Show through the community on Sunday, should culminate in a fun safe weekend for all.
This is just a brief update, watch our website pumpkinfest.org and like us on facebook to receive weekly updates and additions.
Thank you for your support as we steer through these uncharted waters!
The Pumpkinfest Team,
REAL FUN. VIRTUALLY DELIVERED. PUMPKINFEST 2020
Pumpkinfest Releases 2020 Weigh-Off Prize Structure
For the 34th year running, the Port Elgin Pumpkinfest Bruce Power International Weigh-off will continue uninterrupted by the ongoing pandemic.
“While this year has brought some challenges, our committees have put a solid plan in place to continue our much-loved event while maintaining the safety of our staff, volunteers and growers”, noted Pumpkinfest President Dave Mensher. Social distancing will be maintained with mandatory mask use and a directional traffic plan for the weigh-off.
“With the exceptional weather we’ve had, and the limited number of events this year, this may be the year that we see some long-standing records shattered”, said grower committee chair, Doug Court.
“Our growers have been loyal to Pumpkinfest year after year and recognize us as one of the premier events in Ontario, Canada and World-Wide, so we wanted to ensure that we could provide a safe venue for our growers to showcase their prize-winning entries in 2020 when many other events have been cancelled.”
New this year, the weigh-off and other events will be broadcast live on Saturday, October 3rd at pumpkinfest.org for viewers to experience Pumpkinfest from the safety of their homes.
“I’ve been really impressed by the creativity our committees have demonstrated this year to enhance Pumpkinfest ” said Dave Mensher. “Our Cinderella’s Carriage Car Show will be rolling through Grey-Bruce on Sunday, October 4th to bring the event to our audience while maintaining safety.”
Port Elgin Pumpkinfest is an award-winning community festival, contributing to Saugeen Shores year after year as it attracts residents as well as visitors from far beyond the community.
For more information please visit pumpkinfest.org.
