After narrowly missing the title last year, electrical vehicle engineer Brandon Dawson won the top prize at the Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, California. His humongous gourd weighed a staggering 2,346 pounds. That’s about the weight of a bison or small sedan!
The annual pumpkin weighing contest has been likened to the Super Bowl of pumpkin growing. In past years, the event has seen plenty of historic, record-breaking gourds. Back in 2023, horticulture teacher Travis Gienger, a four time winner at the weigh-off, broke the Guinness Book of World Records at the event with his 2,749-pound pumpkin. So it’s safe to say that this year’s competition was stiff.
Dawson started growing massive pumpkins five years ago as a hobby. A longtime gardner, Dawson works full-time as a manufacturing engineer at Rivian Automotive in Sonoma County, California. That mechanical background has influenced his pumpkin growing technique, he says. “Sometimes it [growing pumpkins] gets pretty technical with a lot of the details around how you water and how you fertilize,” Dawson told the Associated Press.
Dawson has also loved getting his young children involved in the process. “It’s very much a family affair,” he laughs.
“We like to spend time out in the patch and watch the thing grow,” said Dawson, referring to his 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son. “My 4-year-old now can really pay attention to the growing process,” especially as the pumpkin starts packing on 50 to 70 pounds a day—easily more than she weighs.
In 2024, Dawson came in second place at the weigh-off, losing by only six pounds to Gienger, the reigning champ. But this year, Gienger’s pumpkin was damaged during the growing season, taking him out of the running for the 2025 title.
After Dawson was announced as the 52nd Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off winner on Monday, he sat his two young children on top of the massive pumpkin for a photo opp. It’s safe to say that there were smiles and cheers all around, as the new pumpkin weigh-off winner posed with his family.
