Springvale man wins annual pumpkin weigh-off

Alen Aten is the proud winner of the 16th annual Great Pumpkin Weigh-off in Springvale, P.E.I.

His entry tipped the scales at470 kilogramsSaturday, winning him $300 and bragging rights for the year.

The giantcucurbit also earned Aten a fourth-place finish for the heaviest pumpkin in Atlantic Canada at the 25th annual Windsor-West Hants Pumpkin Festival in Nova Scotia on Oct. 3.

It will be cut up to retrieve the seeds, and the rest will likely be used as cattle feed.

About 25 members of the Giant Pumpkin Growers Association participated in the P.E.I. event, which has become a Thanksgiving weekend tradition for many island families.

Association president Gordon Aten said growing conditions haven't been ideal this year. But there were still someimpressive entries.

Last year, P.E.I. set a Maritimes record with a 548-kilogram pumpkin grown by Clifford Pickketsof French River.

The title was defeated this year by Bill Northrup of Sussex, N.B., whose pumpkin weighed a whopping 650 kg.