How a Nova Scotia pumpkin regatta honours the giant gourd
'I call them PVCs — personal vegetable craft,' says Danny Dill of the gourd boat
For nearly two decades, Danny Dill has been hosting a pumpkin regatta in his hometown of Windsor, N.S.
It started off as a joke to see if people could get into a giant, hollowed-out pumpkin and paddle across the water, he says.
It worked. The giant gourd floated.
"You know, even to see a 500 pound pumpkin is amazing but then you get in a pumpkin and paddle it, that's another thing," said Dill, son of the legendary giant pumpkin grower Howard Dill.
"I call them PVCs — personal vegetable craft."
According to Dill, Windsor. N.S., was the first to start the annual water race in 1999 after a couple of locals approached him and asked what else could be done with pumpkins besides contests and weigh-offs.
When Dill suggested a pumpkin boat race, "they looked at me with like four eyes thinking, 'What are you talking about?'"
The annual race is held in October on Lake Pesaquid with an 800-metre course.
This year's race attracted a crowd of 20,000 people, according to Dill.
"I mean, with no advertising — it's incredible the draw that these giant pumpkins in the water in regatta bring," he said.
This week, Tom Pearcy of North Yorkshire, England paddled down the River Ouse in a giant pumpkin. According to the BBC, he claims his pumpkin is the world's largest, weighing in at 1,364 pounds.
So it makes sense to Dill that other countries and provinces have caught on to the "magnetism of the giant gourd."
"I mean, you just need a few key ingredients: you need some giant pumpkins, you need some crazy people, and you need a body water and you're good to go," he said.
"Who knows? It could be in the Olympics someday."
Listen to Danny Dill tell his story near the top of this page.
Written by Lisa Ayuso. Produced by Mary-Catherine McIntosh.