Oh my gourd! Anoka declares 'Travis Gienger Day' after record-setting pumpkin
Travis Gienger is continuing to rack up accolades for his world-record-setting pumpkin: The City of Anoka, Minn., has declared Oct. 28 Travis Gienger Day.
Gienger spent the summer growing his prize-winning pumpkin, which he dubbed Michael Jordan. Earlier this month, he hauled it to Half Moon Bay, Calif., for the World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off. It came in at 2,749 pounds, setting the record for the world’s largest pumpkin.
The pumpkin won him $30,000 — and now, a day commemorating his effort.
Anoka Mayor Phil Rice presented him with a proclamation of Travis Gienger Day.
“It’s amazing how a short-lived pumpkin can put smiles on people’s faces,” Gienger said in a press release. “We as humans are a lot like pumpkins, we may not know when our last day is, but if we could all put smiles on people’s faces like this pumpkin, the world would be a better place.”
Gienger has been growing pumpkins since he was a teenager and has competed in the world championship weigh-off for the last four years. He’s taken home the first-place prize for three of those four years, and this was his biggest pumpkin yet.
Anoka takes Halloween seriously — it dubs itself the Halloween Capital of the World, hosting several ghost tours, house decoration contests and parades. Gienger and his pumpkin will be featured in this year’s parade on Saturday.
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