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Parker, Co

Ok...what doors have opened for you through this great hobby? it has taken us to Niagara Falls, Japan, Nova Scotia...we have had visitors from Spain and Canada. We have dined at the French Laundry (one of the best restaurants in the world)...we have made some GREAT Friends all over the world. Thank you Giant Pumpkin Growing!!!

1/28/2012 6:41:45 PM

Washington State

We have had coffee with Joe Dimaggio in Half Moon bay, spent the weekend with Eddie Albert from Green Acres, flown to LA for a tv program, flown to Disneyland and had our pumpkin carved on Main Street, USA a couple times, been to Japan, Canada, and met a lot of great people over the years, and made a lot of friends. How fun is this ? Mari Lou

1/28/2012 6:53:53 PM

So. Maine

The past 8 years we have traded one of our giants ( something between 600 to 700 pounds ) with a 5 star hotel on the coast of NH in exchange for our annual wedding anniversary stayover , for a nice room with dinner and breakfast included . The first year we stayed over they put us in the 2nd most expensive room priced at $ 1250.00 a night . I don't think we would of ever experienced a hotel like this without growing AG's . AND , they also purchase one of my biggest if not the biggest pumpkins for display .

1/28/2012 10:14:26 PM

Parker, Co

"wait til next year"...that is a great story. a good way to keep the spouse happy too. sometimes it is much easier and more valuable to trade our pumpkins for certificates to our favorite restaurants or hotels rather than to try and sell them. i think alot of those trades let you get the seeds too.good luck in 2012.

1/28/2012 11:25:34 PM

Roselle, IL [email protected]

I like the pumpkin for the hotel room exchange. I have been able to pull that one off a few times myself. Keeps my wife happy.. She also got out of a speeding ticket once..She was stopped by a local cop and when he looked at the address on her license..He said you grow those giant pumpkins? I will let you go... and he laughed.

1/29/2012 9:36:54 AM

Parker, Co

george j...that was the topper! i love it!

1/29/2012 10:18:46 AM

best part is meeting people from all over at weighoffs and seminars ive went here and there long ways
thats better than tonight show and good morning america
got pulled over by minnesota trooper after seeing 1810 hit scale he did ask me what i was doing up there i showed him pic he let me go and smiled

1/29/2012 12:42:17 PM

We had a personal invitation to the White House Halloween Party, I managed to bring along a family of growers from WI (3 generations no less) and even got my buddy "abbynormal" past the Secret Service checkpoints.

The next year we crated and shipped a pumpkin to the Virginia, Ireland Pumpkin Festival and my daughter went on a weeks expense paid "ambassador's" trip also taking along another friend/grower.

Beat a few tickets playing the "Giant Pumpkin" card, usually involving speed, trailers with dysfunctional lights, yada yada yadaa.

As Don mentioned, just meeting all the folks over the years at weigh offs, or through this website is an interesting trip in itself.

1/29/2012 5:25:42 PM

Linden, Mi.,

I appreciate and respect what all of you have done.
But for me, going to my local weigh off (Dundee Michigan) (what I have done for many years)tops any thing else I have done and (I have been all over, Canada, for the seminars and to Port Elgin for the wiegh off).
Dundee weight off !
Some of the greatest people you can fine !

1/29/2012 6:57:17 PM

Www.extremepumpkinstore.com

We were contacted by a Film crew from Australia, filming for PBS, we thought it was a joke from our growing buddies until they called a week before the weigh off to tell us that they would be at our patch in a few days!
After weeding like mad men, the PBS crew got to our house and filmed us for the "Lords of the Gourd" episode from the series "In the pursuit of excellence" along with 5 other NYS growers, they set up all of their filming equiptment and filmed for two days. We had the whole neighborhood lined up to watch! We met up with them en route to the weigh off in Cooperstown while they filmed the convoy and then the weigh off, You can actually hear me yell "YEAH" on the video as they weighed my first 1000 lb fruit!.
We still get email from ppl all over the world that have seen it....and yes, I really did buy my wife a new minivan in exchange for taking the entire backyard as my patch...lol

1/30/2012 6:03:43 PM

Midway, UT

Was on TV with Jerry Seinfeld, Julianne Moore and Ricky Gervais talking about giant pumpkins. Also was quoted in National Geographic talking about pumpkins and in the newspaper a few times. Who could imagine?

2/1/2012 12:02:39 AM