Minnesota man drives hauls giant pumpkin over 2,000 miles to California competition

By Nicholas Lentz

A Minnesota man drove a giant pumpkin more than 2,000 miles to Half Moon Bay, California, to enter it in a competition dubbed the Super Bowl of weigh-offs on Monday.

The Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off draws the world’s premier pumpkin growers eager to claim glory and possibly break a world record. 

Minnesota resident Travis Gienger, who had won the competition four times before this year, said he drove his giant piece of produce 2,150 miles to participate.

“It was stressful, you know. You’re white-knuckling it and then going through Tahoe. You got all the trucker bumps, and yeah, it’s an incredible journey,” Gienger said.

Gienger won Monday’s event, with his pumpkin weighing in at 2,389 pounds, though it fell short of the personal competition record he set in 2023 with a 2,749-pound entry.

Around 45 people entered into this year’s competition. 

Gienger said the city, the event and Safeway are what keep him coming back each year.

Half Moon Bay is around 29 miles south of San Francisco.