A 2,365-and-a-half-pound pumpkin broke the Maine state record on Sunday.
Charlie Lopresti, a grower from Buxton and the chief meteorologist for WGME 13, recorded the winning fruit at the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth weigh-off in Newcastle, a kickoff for Damariscotta Pumpkinfest and Regatta.
Maine’s former record holder was 2,125.5 pounds. Raised by Jefferson grower Edwin Pierpont, it took first place at the same weigh-off in 2021.
A small, very dedicated group of growers painstakingly raise the pumpkins in Maine for competitions at local fairs and display at Pumpkinfest. Giant gourds, squash and marrow — a zucchini relative — can also be found around the state, all of them grown from special seeds.
The pumpkins have been swiftly getting bigger. The 2021 prize winner was the first in Maine to break 2,000 pounds, and a decade ago the largest pumpkin in the state was 1,695 pounds.
Lopresti has taken top honors on the giant pumpkin circuit regularly, including earlier this year, when he broke the Cumberland Fair’s record with a 2,070-pound pumpkin.
