#LiveFromVermont - It's Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin'

Who doesn't love Tom Hanks? His David S. Pumpkins character from SNL will apparently be making a reappearance according to a recent tweet from Hanks. You can't go wrong with a Pumpkin Song opening.

Prancing around in a pumpkin suit seems like a dream job. Maybe we'll get our own Dave Pumpkins to ditch the Viking helmet and go with a pumpkin suit.

Pumpkins Rule

Our very own home grown Vermont pumpkins will soon be doing their own performance this coming Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, at the Stoweflake Mountain Resort, in Stowe, Vermont. Come on out and see our Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin' Festival. We have music, food, and fun ($10 admission, free for 4 and under). And it all goes to support a great cause, the Lamoille Restorative Center, in Hyde Park, Vermont, which promotes healthy families and communities within the Lamoille Valley Region of Vermont.

Hit us up on Twitter or our Facebook page if you have #AnyQuestions.

Press Release: 9th Annual Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin’ Festival

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact Person: Heidi Dwyer

Company Name: Lamoille Restorative Center, Hyde Park, Vermont

Phone: 802-888-5871

Fax: 802-888-5400

E-mail: hdwyer@lrcvt.org

Website: lrcvt.org

Blog: vtpumpkinchuckinblogspot.com

9th Annual Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin’ Festival

Stoweflake Resort & Spa to Host 2017 Festival

Proceeds of September 24th event to benefit Lamoille Restorative Center

Stowe, Vermont, Aug. 11, 2017 – This year marks 9 years of the Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin’ (VTPC) Festival. This festival celebrates the sport of “chuckin’” pumpkins, for distance, using a do-it-yourself constructed trebuchet or gravity-powered catapult. Festival founder, Dave Jordan, describes the event as a cross between a Soap Box Derby (amateur building/engineering) and a shot put contest (throwing for distance). The event is a great opportunity for kids of all ages to build something with their hands and engage in some family friendly competition. Records have been broken every year; last year's winner threw 689 feet!

The VTPC Festival is one-day event and has grown every year. This event is sponsored by the Stoweflake Resort and Spa and many other local sponsors.  The event benefits the Lamoille Restorative Center, which has a thirty-seven year history addressing unlawful behaviors, supporting victims of crime, and promoting healthy families and communities within the Lamoille Valley Region of Vermont. 

Mark your calendar for Sunday, September 24th, 2017. The Festival runs from 11am to 4pm and features three rounds of competitive pumpkin chuckin’ at 12:30pm, 1:30pm and 2:30pm with awards shortly after the last round. No dogs or outside food or beverage are allowed at the event. Admission to the Festival is $10.00 and parking is free. Food, beer and wine will be sold by Stoweflake.

Along with the pumpkin chuckin’ contest there will be music, a chili cook-off, and kids activities; all creating an enjoyable fall day.  Music for this year's festival will be provided by two bands; House Dunn, John and Jen, which will be performing from 11am to 4pm.

INFO: Specifications, rules, and entry information can be found on the festival's website at vtpumpkinchuckin.blogspot.com or contact the festival organizer Dave Jordan, Djordan@GMAVT.net. Additional festival information can be found at lrcvt.org or by contacting Heidi Dwyer at: hdwyer@lrcvt.org.

Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin' in 27 Days, Shelburne Museum Mini-Pumpkin Chuckin' in 62 Days

Hey, all you Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin' fans the 9th Annual Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin' Festival is now less than 4 weeks away. Sunday, September 24 is coming up fast. Hope all of you are having a great summer. All systems are go and we are all getting excited to see who has their trebuchets dialed in for maximum pumpkin chuckin' performance this year.

Don't forget we have a Chili Cook-off contest and great music also going on, to round out a great fall Sunday afternoon in Vermont. The weather has been great the last several years and we're counting on it again. Stay strong Houston.

We also want to the word out about the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont hosting their very first Mini Pumpkin Chuckin' competition at the end of October. Sounds like a great event and for our younger competitors, in the lightweight division, another fantastic opportunity to compete on a small scale. Adults and teams of up to eight can also compete at their 20 lb. trebuchet weight limit.

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Shelburne Museum’s First Annual Mini Pumpkin Chuckin' at Haunted Happenings

What’s a Mini Pumpkin Chuckin'? It’s where brilliant minds put their collective brains together in order to launch pumpkins through the air via a trebuchet (a type of catapult used to launch projectiles – like pumpkins)! On Sunday, October 29, during Shelburne Museum’s annual Haunted Happenings Family Day we will be hosting our first ever Mini Pumpkin Chuckin', with demonstrations at 10:30 am and 12:30 pm.

Shelburne Museum invites young and old, experienced chuckers and novices alike, to get creative and show the town what happens when science meet squash. This whimsical competition is open to teams of up to 8 individuals. Everyone is encouraged to participate – civic organizations, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4H’ers, local school groups, neighbors or families – and show off their engineering skills. There are two divisions: Junior for participants under the age of 17 and Adult. Each division is limited to 5 teams so early registration is encouraged!

All participants will gain free entry to other Haunted Happenings events. Accompanying family/guests need to purchase tickets. Tickets are $7 and can be purchased the day of Haunted Happenings at Shelburne Museum. Details here.

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Also, don't forget the Jay Community Recreational Centre in Jay, VT would like to have a trebuchet or catapult demonstrate their pumpkin chuckin' prowess at their Fall event, which will be held on Saturday, October 7th, 2017, two weeks after our VTPC. If you are interested please contact: Sally Rivard, Jay Community Recreational Centre, tel: 802-318-1206.

Finally, we noticed that the big boy Delaware Punkin Chunkin event (WCPC) looks like it is not happening this year. Sad. So stay small, stay local and chunk your pumpkins, squash, and fresh fruit in Vermont.

People's Choice Chili Cook-off Contest Info

For the fourth year in a row, the Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin’ Festival is proud to offer a People’s Choice Chili Cook-off Contest during the festival. This year the chili contest/VTPC Festival is at Stoweflake Mountain Resort on Sunday, September 24th, 2017. Last year we had seven competitors and ran out of chili before the end of the festival. Keith Thompson, owner of Thompson’s flour shop in Morrisville, has graciously agreed to return to organize the competition for us. Help us keep this fun tradition going!

Information, Rules and Registration

Rules & Registration- (updated 8/11/17)

• Entry fee is $10.00 (includes chef’s entry fee to festival). Pre-registration is preferred.
• First prize is $100, 2nd place $50, 3rd place is $25.
• Each competitor must supply 2 gallons of chili to be judged.
• Tents and electricity will be provided. It is recommended that competitors bring extension cords.
• Event will go on- rain or shine, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017.
• Some seating is provided for samplers. Bring your own, if desired.
• Competitors will be ready to start serving their chili at 12:15pm. Please plan accordingly.
• Samplers, bowls, napkins and spoons will be provided.
• Contact Heidi Dwyer via email to register or to ask questions: hdwyer@lrcvt.org

Please provide the following information to register for the contest:

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Name:

Team name (optional):

Email address:

Telephone number:

Chili Recipe Name and Description:

Ingredients (optional):

3rd Annual Extreme Chunkin Event – Loudon, NH, October 14-15, 2017

Brian Labrie, captain of the current WCPCA Champion and World Record Holder (air cannon), Team American Chunker, sent us an invitation to his big New England event: ExtremeChunkin. It will be held on October 14-15, 2017, at the Louden, New Hampshire Speedway. Last year they had four trebuchets competing in the adult division and four in the youth division. Team Yankee Siege II won the trebuchet division last year with a throw of 2608.44 feet. Yankee Scout won the Eastern Propane and Fuel Youth division, four teams competing, with a throw of 491.43 feet. Anyone with an interest in the sport of pumpkin chunkin should head over to Loudon, NH, in October to either watch or compete.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway:
American Chunker Defends Title (Oct. 17, 2016)

2016 Extreme Chunkin Results

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Hi Dave,

I hope all is well with you and your chunkin group. The Extreme Chunkin crew would like to invite you again to the 3rd annual punkin chunkin event in Loudon, NH. If you have any teams that you think may want to make the journey we would like to formally invite them! Hope you can make it!

Best,

Brian

www.extremechunkin.com

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Thanks Brian,

Happy chunkin.

Team American Chunker

Final Results 2016 – World Championship Punkin Chunkin

Moonshiner, Tim Smith, with a few fans at the 2016 Punkin Chunk

The final results for the 2016 World Championship Punkin Chunkin were recently posted on their website. Because the accident happened during the final 3rd round of the Adult Air Cannon competition, and that chunk round was not completed, none of the chunks from that round were counted in the final results.

PunkinChunkin.com:
2016 Results -- here are some of the notable results...

Adult Air Cannons

	Machine Name	Chunk 1	Chunk 2
1st	American Chunker Inc	3338.82	4305.82
2nd	Big 10 Inch	pie	3866.58
3rd	Please Release Me	3257.27	3864.48

Adult Trebuchet

	Machine Name	Chunk 1	Chunk 2	Chunk 3
1st	Colossal Thunder	2214.59	pie	2625.87
2nd	Yankee Seige II	1860.15	2603.63	1643.53
3rd	Punkin Hammer	pie	2509.44	1591.15

Youth Trebuchet

	Machine Name	Chunk 1	Chunk 2	Chunk 3
1st	Stomach Virus	-	1171.55	-
2nd	Troop Six Shooter II	333.57	415.22	-
3rd	Harbuz	133.09	179.75	205.6

10 and Under Trebuchet

	Machine Name	Chunk 1	Chunk 2	Chunk 3
1st	Pumpkin Pirates	434.22	466.64	550.43
2nd	Pop Pops Machine	325.15	499.16	230.46
3rd	Super Ray Trebuchet	97.89	219.53	227.7

Adult Human Power

	Machine Name	Chunk 1	Chunk 2	Chunk 3
1st	Shooda Noed Beter	2343.42	2287.84	1870.2
2nd	Chunkster	1432.67	1580.85	1676.42
3rd	Genes Machine	backfire	991.02	1434.95

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History lesson

The Colossal Thunder trebuchet team from Oklahoma have the current world record for a trebuchet, but with an asterisk. Their record throw of 3,288.6* feet in the Adult Trebuchet division was recorded in October, 2015 at the WCPC sanctioned punkin chunk in Aurora, Colorado, Punkin Chunkin Colorado, which is held at an elevation above 5,000 feet. Therefore two records are listed, with Yankee Siege II holding the closer to sea level record of 2835.81 feet, set in 2013, for an Adult Trebuchet.

Colossal Thunder trebuchet team at 2015 Colorado Punkin Chunkin

related:
Mark Antonation / October 12, 2015 / Westword.com :
Colorado Punkin Chunkin Squashes Hopes in Delaware Raises Readers Ire

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WCPC pics:

Looking down the barrel of an air cannon at Punkin Chunkin

Aerial view of 2016 Punkin Chunk

Punkin Chunkin  pictures via PunkinChunkin Facebook page