An estimated 30,000 people visited the 33rd annual Port Elgin Pumpkinfest, filling the downtown core of Port Elgin, October 5 and 6.
Hub Staff
It was a high-yielding weekend at Port Elgin's award winning Pumpkinfest October 5 and 6, now in its 33rd year. This year's festival saw approximately 30,000 people flock to the downtown core to view giant produce and enjoy a weekend of family fun and entertainment.
Celebrating its own 25th anniversary was the Cinderella Carriage Car Show with hundreds of classic cars lining both sides of Goderich Street as well as several side streets in downtown Port Elgin. Vehicles on show included The Corvette Corral, presented by the Saugeen Shores Corvette Club; and the Motorcycle Show and Shine, presented by the Grey-Bruce Motorcycle Touring Club.
Following the national anthem, sung by the Chantry Singers Saturday morning, Saugeen Shores Mayor Luke Charbonneau and Pumpkinfest Vice-Chair Dave Mensher officially welcomed everyone to the Growers' Tent and thanked organizers and volunteers for making the event possible.
“We have tremendous organizers and a whole army of volunteers who make Pumpkinfest a possibility in our community every year,” said Charbonneau.
This year's celebrity seed spitting contest saw local Jordan MacKinnon from Blackburn Radio not only take the coveted trophy for 2019 but send his seed beyond the event's measuring scale to set a new Pumpkinfest record with a distance of 33'2", beating Allan Barfoot's previous record of 31'3".
Giant produce off all shapes and sizes, including several huge pumpkins, filled the weigh-off arena as both growers and visitors to the annual festival watched eagerly for new records to be broken.
See: Sights to behold in the Pumpkinfest Growers' Tent
Meanwhile in the Pumpkinfest Village, a whole array of entertainment awaited people of all ages. From colourful rides at the midway to pumpkin carving to kiddie carnival, petting zoo, and even a visit from Batman were just some of what was in store. Food, craft and marketplace vendors as well as entertainers of all sorts throughout Saturday and Sunday rounded out the weekend.
Numerous fundraising events took place within and around Pumpkinfest with many service clubs taking advantage of the many visitors to the area.
The first annual Pumpkinfest Pursuit, a 5 kilometre fun run held at Saugeen District Senior School, saw over 150 participants including over 40 children with proceeds going to Pumpkinfest and the Saugeen Track & Field Club.
Within the Pumpkifest Village, the Port Elgin Rotary Club were back selling the official pumpkin pie of Pumpkinfest with proceeds being donated to the Huron Shores Hospice in Tiverton.
Pumpkinfest Coordinator Joanne Robbins called the weekend event a success. “We know the gates were up about 10 to 15 percent from last year," said Robbins. “Everything was wonderful. It was a very successful year."
With numerous rides, the midway was a popular attraction at Pumpkinfest 2019, October 5 and 6.
Port Elgin Pumkinfest's Petals and Patches congratulated Blackburn Radio's Jordan MacKinnon on winning this year's celebrity seed spitting competition. MacKinnon broke the Pumpkinfest record by sending his seed a distance of 33'2".
Thousands of Pumpkinfest visitors walked up and down Goderich Street in Port Elgin as they checked out hundreds of classic vehicles at the Cinderella Carriage Car Show.
Large crowds came to see the large produce on display at the Bruce Power Growers' Tent.
Batman was a popular stop for young and old as they got their photo taken with the Dark Knight.
Pumpkinfest volunteers carefully manoeuvered one of the giant pumpkins ready for weighing.
Giant pumpkin carver Raymond Macdonald working on the first of two pumpkins over the weekend. MacDonald was showing Pumpkinfest visitors some carving tips as they put their own mark on the creation.
Over 150 runners and walkers participated in the first annual Pumpkin Pursuit, a Pumpkinfest and Saugeen Track & Field fundraiser, one of many fundraisers that took place over Pumpkinfest weekend.
Tim the Puppet Tamer was one of the many shows to take place on the Bruce Telecom entertainment stage during the 33rd annual festival in Port Elgin.
