CIRCLEVILLE, Ohio – They say records are meant to be broken. Just ask Troy VanArsdalen, of Pickaway County, and he’ll tell you it’s true.

VanArsdalen was all smiles as the scales weighing his massive pumpkin showed 2,455 pounds, setting a Circleville Pumpkin Show record. His pumpkin is almost three times as large as his entry from last year, which weighed 886 pounds. And, his record shattered the show’s previous record of 2,388.5 pounds, set by Bob and Jo Liggett in 2023.

Pete Bowers was second this year, with a pumpkin weighing 1,709 pounds. Third place went to David Beyer, whose pumpkin weighed 1,657 pounds.

VanArsdalen’s 10-year-old grandson, Able, finished fourth in this year’s competition with a pumpkin weighing 1,553 pounds. It was Albe’s second year in this growing contest.

“We’re going to have four VanArsdalens growing pumpkins next year so it’s becoming a real family hobby,” VanArsdalen said.

First to congratulate VanArsdalen was Liggett, champion of the 2024 weigh-in and 13-time-winner since the official weigh-ins began in 1996.

To qualify for this annual contest, the pumpkin must be grown withing a 25-mile radius of downtown Circleville, which has been holding this annual fall gathering since 1903.

“My goal at the start of the growing season was to reach 2,000 pounds,” said VanArsdalen, who earned a $3,000 check for his win. “I would describe this effort as a full-time, part-time job.”

First-time pumpkin growers Larry Edwards and Debbie Landis found success in growing pumpkins, just not the gigantic size that qualified for prize money or bragging rights.

“From the first of April the work began,” Edwards said. “I smartly listened to other growers and started with champion genetics, beginning with seeds bred specifically for giant size. I tried Wyatt’s Wonder as these varieties are chosen for their size and vigor. I started mine indoors about five weeks before the last frost and placed them on heated mats.”

Landis started growing three pumpkins, growing using techniques she learned from one of the show’s prior champions.

“I soaked by seeds in warm water to speed germination and used individual pots to avoid root disturbance when I transplanted them outdoors,” Landis said. “I made sure I had well-drained soil that was rich in organic matter, mixing 50 percent compost, 30 percent topsoil and the rest using fine sand.”

Both growers agreed that their fruit needed at least eight hours of sunlight daily and they both tested the soil to ensure adequate phosphorus and potassium. And, like all other growers, they had their issues with insects.

Some growers interviewed advised removing offshoots from secondary vines, and others say to bury vine joints with soil to encourage extra root growth. And above all, most admit, keep vines spread out but not tangled.

“Water, yes, but not too much,” Edwards advised. “Deep watering, maybe two inches a week to prevent stress, but in hot, dry weather like what we had in August, you water more often.”

Landis said, “Lots of time, and lots of work when trying to grow these monsters. The winner receives a dollar for each pound weighed, and that likely comes out to maybe one dollar an hour. Is it worth all the effort? I say so, but not all agree.”

And even after the long, tedious weeks of growing the fruit, they don’t always make it to the scales at East Main Street. Ty Hamilton was toting his large pumpkin 13 miles up Ohio Route 22 when his right front truck tire struck a pothole, splitting his large gourd in the back of his pickup truck. Hamilton said his pumpkin would have tipped the scale at roughly 1,000 pounds.

“We’re better off with drought than we are with lots of rain,” pumpkin grower Diane Gabriel said. “I lost my entire patch and was done for the season. You just can’t control the environment.”

Liggett said he had his work cut out for him due to extreme weather conditions. Excessive rain in August and early September played havoc on Liggett’s patch as well as others. In September, Circleville received 8.75 inches of rain, much more than what’s needed.

“That’s the problem with too much water. If we get a little defect and we don’t see it in time then things can go south,” Liggett said.

And Liggett isn’t throwing in the towel just yet.

“It never gets old. In fact, this is fun and exciting,” Liggett said. “The fun part is trying to get them off the trailer.”

This famed and unique agricultural exhibit and street fair had its humble origin in October 1903, when then-Mayor George R. Haswell conceived the idea of holding a small exhibit in front of his house on West Main Street. To this day it is the sixth largest festival in the United States with an average four-day attendance of 400,000.