Here we go for the 15th Time - September 29th, 2024

15th Annual Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin Festival is in 30 days!

Only a few summer days left to build your trebuchet and chuck your way to fame and riches. $200 top prize for the best trebuchet design, $100 for the winner of each division, and $100 to the winner of the Citizen’s Choice Chili Cookoff.

Here is our press release talking about all the great stuff going on at the festival:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact person: Dave Jordan
phone: (603) 630-4800
email: Djordan@gmavt.net
blog: VTPumpkinChuckin.blogspot.com
Charity: Clarina Howard Nichols Center, Morrisville, VT

15th Annual Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin Festival

Held at the Stowe Events Field, Weeks Hill Road in Stowe, VT

Proceeds of the September 29th event to benefit the Clarina Howard Nichols Center

Stowe, Vermont / Aug. 30, 2024: This year marks 15 years of the Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin Festival, awarded USA Today’s best fall festival in the nation. This festival celebrates the sport of chuckin' pumpkins for distance, using a do-it-yourself constructed trebuchet, which is a gravity-powered catapult. The event is a cross between a Soap Box Derby competition involving amateur building skills and a shot put contest. This is a great opportunity for kids and adults to design and build something and engage in some family-friendly competition.

The festival is a one-day event that benefits the Clarina Howard Nichols Center’s work to end domestic and sexual violence, human trafficking, and stalking in Lamoille County.

Mark your calendar for Sunday, September 29, 2024. The festival runs from 11am to 4pm and features 3 rounds of chuckin' at 12:30pm, 1:30pm, and 2:30pm, with awards shortly after the last round. Cash prizes are awarded in each division and for the best overall design.

Bring your appetite for 6 food trucks and your craft appreciation for over 40 craft vendors. Round out the action are 2 bands, Kirkland The Band and John Smyth, a giant robot roaming the field, kid activities, Infoman from Montreal, and a volleyball tournament featuring the best players in the state.

Admission to the festival is $10, and children 5 years and younger are admitted for free. Parking is free. Handicap parking is available, but no seating is provided. Feel free to bring chairs or blankets. No dogs, outside food, or beverages are allowed at the event.

Admission is free if you enter the Chili Cookoff. To enter bring 2 gallons of chili in a crock pot. Attendees will pay to sample the various chilis and vote for their favorites. Chili must be onsite by 11:30am. The top three chilis will win a cash prize.

INFO: Specifications, rules, and entry information can be found on the festival blog at VTPumpkinChuckin.blogspot.com or contact the festival organizer at Djordan@gmavt.net.

You may see another record fall; in 2009 the winning throw was 139 feet, and last year the winning throw was 861 feet! Here is a table showing the past winners of the event:

year -- feet - captain --- design

2009 - 139 - Dave Barrows - standard
2010 - 230 - Wayne Powell - standard
2011 - 381 - SUNY Plattsburgh - floating arm
2012 - 438 - Dwight Snowberger - floating arm
2013 - 596 - Dwight Snowberger - floating arm
2014 - 514 - Don Jordan - King Arthur
2015 - 520 - Chris McGrody - floating arm
2016 - 689 - Dave Jordan - King Arthur
2017 - 509 - Ray Chamberlain - floating arm
2018 - 780 - Orion Stapleton - walking arm
2019 - 658 - Orion Stapleton - walking arm
2020 - Cancelled due to Covid
2021 - 750 - Jonathan Stapleton walking arm
2022 - 810 - Orion Stapleton - walking arm
2023 - 861 - Jonathan Stapleton - walking arm