By Haven Daley and Olga R. Rodriguez | Related Press
HALF MOON BAY — A North Bay engineer and gardening fanatic received the highest prize at an annual pumpkin-weighing contest in Northern California after rising a large jack-o’-lantern gourd weighing 2,346 kilos.
Brandon Dawson, of Santa Rosa, clinched the victory Monday on the 52nd World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay.
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Dawson pumped his arms within the air and sat his two youngsters on high of the large pumpkin — roughly the identical weight as a small sedan or a big bison — after being topped this 12 months’s winner.
Big pumpkins are raised by fork lifts earlier than being weighed on the 52nd annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Picture/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
A large pumpkin is measured on the 52nd annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Picture/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Big pumpkins are raised by fork lifts earlier than being weighed on the 52nd annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Picture/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Norman Breshears, dressed up as a scarecrow, takes a photograph of one of many large pumpkins on the 52nd annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Picture/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Kids watch as a large pumpkin is fork lifted on the 52nd annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Picture/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
The underside of a large pumpkin is inspected earlier than being weighed on the 52nd annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Picture/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Asunción Gijon, proper, faucets on a large pumpkin to try to guess its weight, based mostly on how hole it sounds, in the course of the 52nd annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Picture/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Brandon Dawson, left, is congratulated by Travis Gienger, who was final 12 months’s champion, after successful the Safeway 52nd annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Picture/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Brandon Dawson wears a hoop awarded to him for successful the Safeway 52nd annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Picture/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Brandon Dawson, left, celebrates with Travis Gienger, who was final 12 months’s champion, after successful the Safeway 52nd annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Picture/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
A large pumpkin is moved with a fork raise on the 52nd annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Picture/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Alyssa Sundman, proper, and her son Arlo have a look at large pumpkins on the 52nd annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Picture/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Brandon Dawson, left, celebrates after successful the Safeway 52nd annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Picture/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
From left, Brandon Dawson celebrates together with his youngsters Roman and Ayla after successful the Safeway 52nd annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Picture/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
Roman Dawson touches a large pumpkin contained in the mattress of a pick-up truck on the 52nd annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Picture/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
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Big pumpkins are raised by fork lifts earlier than being weighed on the 52nd annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif., Monday, Oct. 13, 2025. (AP Picture/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
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“My mind is kind of racing because I was in this position last year when I lost by 6 pounds,” he stated in an interview.
Dawson, a producing engineer at electrical automobile maker Rivian Automotive, stated he has been rising huge pumpkins for 5 years. Precision expertise acquired at his job helped him with the correct watering and daylight to assist his gourd develop, he stated.
He stated he enjoys getting his youngsters concerned within the course of.
“We like to spend time out in the patch and watch the thing grow,” Dawson stated about his 2-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter.
“My 4-year-old now can really pay attention to the growing process,” particularly because the large pumpkins can develop by 50 to 70 kilos (23 to 32 kilograms) a day, he added.
The pumpkin champ received a $20,000 prize for rising the most important pumpkin.
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Dawson’s pumpkin was the runner up in final 12 months’s contest at Half Moon Bay when the successful gourd grown by Minnesota horticulture instructor Travis Gienger got here in at 2,471 kilos.
Gienger, of Anoka, Minnesota, set a world report on the California contest in 2023 for the heaviest pumpkin when his large jack-o’-lantern gourd weighed 2,749 kilos. Gienger’s pumpkin was broken earlier this season and he couldn’t enter this 12 months’s contest in California.
Two brothers in England earlier this month broke Gienger’s report with a gourd that weighed 2,819 kilos.
Initially Printed: October 13, 2025 at 4:06 PM PDT
