Great Pumpkin Weigh-Off at Irvine Park Railroad

Gourds of grand girth'll (carefully) roll into the family-sweet Orange attraction.

EVER GROWN SOMETHING IN THE GARDEN? Then you know the flush of pride that comes when a wee leaf pops out of the soil, or a tiny tendril, or the smallest promise of a bud. Now imagine growing, in your yard, a seedy, stem-boasting, fleshy behemoth of fall-tastic proportions, a specimen so sizable you're prompted to call all of your pals who own a pick-up truck. Why? Because you've produced a pumpkin that weighs several hundred pounds, and no off-the-rack measuring tape could possible fit around its fabulous middle. Why, though, would you need a pick-up truck, or another vehicle capable of holding such a mammoth beauty? To transport it to Irvine Park Railroad, of course, where the...

GREAT PUMPKIN WEIGH-OFF... happens, each and every year, just as autumn arrives. True, there's a major pumpkin contest come October in Half Moon Bay, up north, but if you're based in Southern California, and you're a person devoted to turning out titanic pumpkins, you'll look to Orange to show off your squash. The 2017 competition is on Saturday, Sept. 23, and even if you didn't grow a 700-pounder over the summer, you can still show up to see what a mega gourd looks like from a close distance. The Pumpkin Patch is also open on the day of the weigh-off, and other cute to-dos are afoot, so spending an hour there with the young'uns, before or after the squashy showdown, is a pleasant way to spend a fall day. It's free to watch the weigh-off, but activities do cost, and you'll want money for food, as it all happens over the lunch hour, from 11 a.m. to 1 o'clock. Details? Here.

HOW CHALLENGING... would it be to carve such a colossal pumpkin into a jack o'lantern? That's something to discuss with your family on your way home, and just what, exactly, your jack o'lantern design might be for a thousand-pound pumpkin.

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