PEI·NewGrowers are ready to show off their specimens at the annual P.E.I. Giant Pumpkin and Squash Weigh-off to see who brought along the largest of the bunch. This year, even more garden giants will be weighed, inspected and celebrated. Growers from across the Island will compete for gourd glory SaturdayBrittany Spencer · CBC News · Posted: Oct 08, 2025 1:00 PM EDT | Last Updated: 30 minutes agoLuke Vessey, left, prepares a pumpkin to be weighed at the 2024 competition in Summerside. (Laura Meader/CBC)It’s the moment they’ve been waiting for all season. Growers from across the province will come together this Saturday in Summerside for the annual P.E.I. Giant Pumpkin and Squash Weigh-off to see whose prized gourd will take home this year’s championship title. This year marks a new era for the P.E.I. Giant Pumpkin Growers Association. The competition is open to even more giants from the garden that will be weighed, inspected and celebrated.Mark Tremere, a past champion, said the hot and dry summer has been great for growers.“Things are looking great, we’re anticipating some new growers from a workshop we had last winter and there’s some rumors we might even have a new record here on Prince Edward Island,” Tremere told CBC’s Island Morning. Mark Tremere poses with last year’s winning pumpkin, which weighed 668 kilograms. (Laura Meader/CBC)Tremere said the P.E.I. record for heaviest pumpkin belongs to Charlottetown’s Eddy Shaw, whose pumpkin weighed about 802 kilograms (1,768 pounds) back in 2018.“It would be great to beat his record,” Tremere said. As for Tremere, he won top prizes in the pumpkin and squash categories at last year’s P.E.I. Giant Pumpkin and Squash Weigh-off.The Marshfield, P.E.I., grower took home $750 for his 668-kilogram (1,495-pound) pumpkin and another $200 for his first-place squash, which weighed in at 361 kilograms (796.6 pounds).New weigh-in categories Tremere said Saturday’s weigh-off should bring a long line of pumpkins to the competition, along with some brand new contenders.“There’s a couple monsters coming,” he said. LISTEN | Pumpkin weigh-off day:Island Morning5:40Pumpkin weigh-off dayThis Saturday is giant pumpkin weigh-off day, grower Mark Tremere joins us to talk about the upcoming event.This year, the event will introduce new categories for long gourds, tomatoes and watermelon, as well as awards for best pumpkin and biggest squash. Tremere said there will also be an award for best youth grower in honour of one of the association’s founding members, Walter Andrews, who died earlier this year. There will be many ways for people to get involved in Saturday’s events, especially for those who are thinking about getting into growing. “We have some seeds to give to interested people,” Tremere said. “We’re always open to giving away seeds, tips, tricks…. We’re trying to push this community in every way we can.” The event kicks off at 10 a.m. Saturday at Kool Breeze Farms in Summerside, with the weigh-off officially starting at noon.ABOUT THE AUTHORBrittany Spencer is a multi-platform reporter and producer with CBC Prince Edward Island. She’s covered politics, health care and the justice system. She’s a graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University’s journalism program and joined CBC in 2017. You can reach her at brittany.spencer@cbc.caWith files from Island Morning
Annual pumpkin weigh-off in P.E.I. to include even more garden giants this year
