Guinness World Record Attempt at Moab’s Pumpkin Chuckin’ Festival This Saturday

--Moab, UT~ The two time pumpkin chuckin’ world record holders--the ‘Big 10 Inch’ air cannon team-- have traveled across the country from the Delaware River Valley to attempt to break the Guinness World Record at the Youth Garden Project’s Pumpkin Chuckin’ Festival this Saturday October 31st in Moab, Utah at the Old Airport Runway, just south of town.

Ralph Eschborn II, spokesperson for the ‘Big 10 Inch’ team is confident that with favorable weather his team has an excellent chance of grabbing the Guinness Record in Moab on Halloween.  They’ve achieved their previous farthest distance of 4,211 feet twice, in 2005 and 2007, both times at sea level.  The Guinness World Record currently stands only slightly farther,  at 4,491 feet.

“We looked at Moab in part for the elevation, because we think we can shoot farther in the thinner air, and Moab’s event is a perfect tune up for us since it is just a week before the World Championships in Delaware,” said Eschborn.  “Being the first to pass 5000 feet is the second big milestone to shoot for, along with being the first to chuck a mile,” he added.

But Eschborn and the ‘Big 10 Inch’ crew chose Moab not just for the elevation, but also out of appreciation for the Youth Garden Project of Moab, the nonprofit group sponsoring the event.

“Our team was excited by the community service aspect of the Youth Garden Project, and wanted to support their organization, and they’ve been great to work with,” Eschborn said.

The addition of this Guinness World Record bid tops off an already packed program, full of creativity and hometown splendor.  Fashioned in the spirit of an old time fair, the event features pumpkin pie eating and seed spitting contests, costumed Wiener dog races, a straw-bale maze for kids and other games and activities for children.

In medieval times, catapults and trebuchets launched projectiles into enemy territory. With the advent of gunpowder, they were quickly cast aside in favor of more powerful artillery, but the allure of flinging objects through the air never faded.  The lost art of making inanimate objects soar will be rediscovered this fall as the Youth Garden Project presents the fourth annual Moab Pumpkin Chuckin’ Festival.

This fall harvest festival includes contests for people of all ages, live music and entertainment, vendor booths, and a wide range of characters roaming the festival grounds. The festival’s main event, the Pumpkin Chuckin’ Contest, is open to anyone craving a challenging experience that requires creativity, ingenuity, and a love of launching stuff. Entrants compete in one of four divisions: catapults, trebuchets, air cannons, and sling shots with a special youth category in each division.

No knowledge of physics or math is required to watch the launching competition or to enjoy live bluegrass music by Cosy Sheridan and T.R. Ritchie in the morning and the Metamoocil Mountain Boys in the afternoon.  A variety of talented local and regional artists will have their work available for sale.

The event brings together community organizations, local farmers, artisans, and musicians with members of the community to celebrate the harvest – and is a perfect way to enjoy the crisp Utah fall weather amidst the towering LaSal Mountains and red rock mesas. Proceeds from the event support the Youth Garden Project, a non-profit in Moab that grows food, kids and community.