You may have heard about the Great Pumpkin, but have you ever seen a pumpkin fly hundreds of feet through the air and smash into a thousand pieces?

Well, get ready because the much anticipated 22^nd annual Pumpkin Chunkin event will take place on Sunday (Nov. 2) across the road from Andy’s Farm and Garden store on the River Road, just beyond the town line in Dayton.

The event begins at 1 p.m.

Since 2003, Cole has delighted spectators with his home-built catapults and “air cannons” launching pumpkins hundreds of feet into the air and across a pastoral field.

“It is a lot of fun,” Cole laughed. “And it seems to be growing in popularity each year.”

According to one of the event vendors, “Pumpkin Chunkin is the must attend event of the year and your chance to seek revenge on pumpkin spice everything and Halloween.”

“The sound of the pumpkins launching brings anticipation, the sight and sounds of the pumpkins hurtling to earth smashing into thousands of pieces brings satisfaction,” reads an Instagram post from the No Bowl Empty Pet Food Pantry.

The two-hour event will begin at 1 p.m., and will feature food vendors, including The Hot Dog Lady and maple-flavored soft-serve ice cream.

“Pumpkin Chunkin is your chance
to seek revenge on pumpkin spice
everything and Halloween.”

— No Bowl Empty pet food pantry

The charity event benefits both the No Bowl Empty pet food pantry and the York County Shelters Food Pantry. Attendees are asked to consider bringing a non-perishable human or pet food donation.

In a previous interview with this reporter, Cole said he first got the idea for building the catapults from watching shows on the Discovery and History channels.

“I thought to myself, man, I could build one of those,” he said. (Laughs) “It took me about a year, and we first tied it out in 2003.

“We had about 25 people come to watch. We quickly found out what worked and what didn’t work. (Laughs) One pumpkin went straight up into the air, over our heads and everyone had to scramble out of the way.” (Laughs).

“It’s pretty cool to watch the kids’ expressions when they see the pumpkins launched. We also have an air cannon now to launch smaller pumpkins. It’s a lot of fun.”

_________________

Randy Seaver is the editor and founder of the Biddeford Gazette. He may be reached by email: randy@randyseaver.com

c.) 2025 All Rights Reserved

Never miss another update! Subscribe for free today!