Under a mix of rain and sunshine, the Stowe Events Field came alive for the 17th Annual Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin’ Festival! Locals and tourists from around the world gathered to celebrate Vermont’s most unique fall tradition of trebuchet-powered pumpkin hurling, friendly competition, local food, music, and family fun.
This year’s festival featured 16 pumpkin-chucking teams, 17 trebuchets, 1,400 spectators, chili cook-off competitors, 27 volleyball teams, 8 food vendors, 25 craft artisans and fine art vendors, 33 business sponsors, and 40 incredible volunteers.
Together, we raised $31,347 for the Clarina Howard Nichols Center, a Lamoille County nonprofit dedicated to ending domestic and sexual violence. The funds came from entrance fees, sponsorships, merchandise sales, the chili cook-off, craft fair vendor fees, and generous on-site donations. Huge thanks to Executive Director Becky Gonyea and her cheery energetic team of volunteers for organizing and running the festival for the eighth consecutive year!
🏆 Highlights & Competition Results
Five-time winner:
Jonathan Stapleton, four-time winner and holder of the world record throw of 879 feet became a five-time winner. His unique walking arm design threw “only” 830 feet in the pouring rain and a slight headwind but that was enough to win the contest. He might have won the middleweight open division as well but he felt guilty that his projectile for the first two rounds was a rocket instead of a vegetable or fruit. It was within the rules for weight and density, but to be fair he scrapped the first two rounds and threw a vegetable in the last round. That last round spectacularly threw slightly backwards and up about 200 feet and safely landed behind one of the food trucks so his score was zero for the three rounds.
Grand Prize: Best Design
This prize is awarded to the team that throws the farthest for their height.
Jonathan Stapleton --- “Controlled Chaos”
🎯 Division Winners
Lightweight Division
🥇 James DuFour --- “I Forget”
Middleweight Junior Division
🥇 Hunter Carleton --- “Sutton Slinger”
🥈 Jonah Wagner --- “Wittle Wagners”
🥉 Caleb Bourdeau --- “Let it Fly Part Two”
Middleweight Open Division
🥇 Tyler Barnard --- “Just Keep Chucking”
🥈 Steve McCann --- “Pumpkin Ax Two”
🥉 Steven McCann --- “Max D23”
Heavyweight Division
🥇 Jonathan Stapleton --- “Controlled Chaos”
🥈 Cameron Russin --- “Flooded With Coolant”
🥉 Nick Helms --- “Trebustein”
🎯 Official results of all competitors and trebuchets
The actual and scaled distances are shown in feet. All lightweights are scaled up by 2.93; all middleweights are scaled up by 1.71. Heavyweights are not scaled. Some of the trebuchets were over the weight or height limit for their division, so they are adjusted down accordingly.
Division Captain actual scaled place cash
Lightweight James DuFour 72.0 41.3 1st $100
Middleweight Jr. Hunter Carleton 214.5 367.7 1st $100
Middleweight Jr. Jonah Wagner 180.3 309.1 2nd $50
Middleweight Jr. Caleb Bourdeau 171.0 293.1 3rd $25
Middleweight Jr. Adler Choate 38.5 66.0 4th $0
Middleweight Open Tyler Barnard 377.7 647.5 1st $100
Middleweight Open Steve McCann 365.1 590.4 2nd $50
Middleweight Open Steven McCann 327.9 562.1 3rd $25
Middleweight Open Oren Martin 203.7 319.5 4th $0
Middleweight Open Roger DuHamel 156.6 268.4 5th $0
Middleweight Open Wally Fischer 68.4 117.3 6th $0
Middleweight Open Deanna Waldrop 43.9 75.3 7th $0
Middleweight Open Melanie Long 11.8 20.1 8th $0
Middleweight Open Jonathan Stapleton 0 0 9th $0
Heavyweight Jonathan Stapleton 855 830.1 1st $200
(grand prize)
Heavyweight Cameron Russin 278.1 278.1 2nd $50
Heavyweight Nick Helms 353.4 225.1 3rd $25
⚙️ How the Scoring Works
A trebuchet’s potential energy is limited by its height and weight, so each division has limits for fairness. The lightweights are limited to 41” and 20 pounds, middleweights are limited to 70” and 100 pounds, and heavyweights are limited to 120” and 500 pounds. Each must throw a vegetable or fruit that weighs at least 1/100 of their trebuchet limit. For example, the heavyweights must throw a pumpkin that weighs at least 5 pounds.
The coveted Best Design award is awarded to the most efficient trebuchet. This is determined by scaling each division’s winning throw based on height ratios, ensuring that every trebuchet, big or small, competes on equal footing. A lightweight, middleweight, or heavyweight has an equal opportunity to win the Best Design. In fact, over the last 17 years we’ve had 2 lightweight winners, 8 middleweight winners and 7 heavyweight winners.
🌶️ Chili Cook-Off Champions
Attendees sampled all the chili recipes for $5 and cast their votes: Just like the trebuchet winners, the chili cook-off winners also receive cash prizes. A little-known fact, all the competitors in the cook-off get into the festival for free, best deal in the house!
🥇 Travis Barfield and Chas Hannum ($100)
🥈 Allyson Scanlon and Eric Halperin ($50)
🥉 Max Levine ($25)
🏐 Volleyball Tournament
The Fifth Annual Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin’ Invitational Volleyball Quads Tournament, organized by Bill Orleans of Green Mountain Volleyball, drew 27 top-tier teams from New England. The winners were:
🥇 Ryan Rabidou, Kevin Devine, Carter Wilson, and Nick Pizzuti
🍴 Food, Crafts & Music
Festival-goers enjoyed delicious eats from Debs on the Go, El Gato Cantina, Hook and Peel Mobile Pizza Kitchen, Huard Family Farm, Maharaja Spice, Mediterranean Mix, Street Treats Ice Cream, and The Better Kettle.
The 3rd Annual Craft, Artisan, and Fine Arts Fair featured 25 talented artisans, offering everything from pottery and maple products to photography, jewelry, and woodworking.
Music filled the air all day with the upbeat rhythms of Ok Commuter, keeping the energy high as pumpkins soared.
🐢 Dolores the Tortoise Returns!
Beloved local celebrity Dolores the Tortoise, along with her owner Kelly Goosecock, delighted attendees for the fourth year in a row. She remains the festival’s only official animal guest and earned a spot on the Hall of Fame sign!
🙏 Thank You to Our Volunteers & Sponsors
This festival thrives thanks to our 40 dedicated volunteers who made everything possible — from setup and cleanup to parking, kids’ activities, and measuring those all-important throws. Special thanks to announcer Mel Allen, Amanda Tingard and the youth volunteers from Peoples Academy and Stowe High School.
Lead Sponsor
Nichols & Bates, P.C.
Heavyweight Sponsors
Community National Bank • Maggie McLeod Macdonald Fund • QuickStart • Three Mountain Roofing
Middleweight Sponsors
Coldwell Banker Carlson Real Estate • In Company Clothing • Johnson Farm and Garden, Hardware & Rental • Seldom Scene Interiors • Sterling Autobody ٠ Union Bank ٠ Vermont Community Foundation
Lightweight Sponsors
Casella Waste Systems • Commodities Natural Market • Deb’s on the Go ٠ Donald P. Blake, Jr. Inc. ٠ Edward Jones – Caren Merson • El Gato Cantina • Hook & Peel Mobile Pizza Kitchen • Huard Family Farm • Lamoille Funeral Home ٠ Maharaja Spice • Manufacturing Solutions, Inc. ٠ Mediterranean Mix • Mumley Engineering, Inc. ٠ North Central VT Recovery Center ٠ Parkers’ Heating & Cooling ٠ Piecasso Family Pizzeria ٠ Street Treats Ice Cream ٠ The Better Kettle • Trombley & Day Group • Two Sons Bakehouse ٠ Vermont Electric Cooperative
Save the Date: September 26, 2027
Mark your calendars! The 18th Annual Vermont Pumpkin Chuckin’ Festival is tentatively scheduled for Sunday, September 26, 2027, at the Stowe Events Field. This should be finalized around March. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for updates as the date approaches.
For more details:
📧 Dave Jordan – Festival Organizer
📰 Blog: VTPumpkinChuckin.blogspot.com
📩 Email: Djordan@gmavt.net
