CIRCLEVILLE (AP) — An Ohio man took home the top prize in the 110th annual Circleville Pumpkin Show with a gourd that weighed in at a whopping 1,553.5 pounds.
The Columbus Dispatch reports Washington Township’s Cecil Weston was on a mission to beat Bob and Jo Liggett after their 2014 pumpkin (right) broke the festival record he set a year earlier.
While the Liggetts’ record-setting pumpkin still stands as the benchmark at 1,964 pounds, Weston says he’s unsure what to do after beating Bob Liggett — a 12-time champion — “at his best” in 2016.
The Liggetts took second place at this year’s contest with a 1,543.5-pound pumpkin. There’s no hard feelings for Bob Liggett, who says he’s happy to see a new generation of giant-pumpkin growers.
Weston says there’s no greater pastime.