RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The biggest pumpkin at the North Carolina State Fair was grown in … West Virginia?
Fair officials said Thursday that each of the top pumpkins weighed in at more than 1,000 pounds and the biggest tipped the scales at 1,461 pounds.
That one was grown by Chris Rodebaugh of Lewisburg, West Virginia.
The competition is sanctioned by the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth, and that makes it open to all growers — from both in and out of the state — wishing to enter their vegetables, fair officials said.
Danny Vester of Spring Hope grew the largest North Carolina pumpkin, coming in second at 1,217.5 pounds. Stephen Wright from Waynesboro, Virginia, was third with a gourd that weighed in at 1,106.5 pounds.
Horticulture Superintendent April Blazich says Rodebaugh’s pumpkin is “particularly pleasing” and “is a color we call ‘sexy orange.’”
It will be worth somewhere between $2,191.50 and $4,383 for Rodebaugh: Fair officials say the top three finishers each will take home between $1.50 and $3 per pound, but did not specify in a release exactly how much each will receive.
