Pumpkins roll into Half Moon Bay for annual contest

HALF MOON BAY, Calif. -- Pumpkins weighing nearly a ton are rolling into Half Moon Bay this weekend to take part in an annual pumpkin weigh-off.

The 2013 Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off takes place on Monday and kicks off Half Moon Bay's weeklong Art & Pumpkin Festival.

Dozens of growers from across the country are trucking their massive pumpkins to San Mateo County's coastside, where a cash prize determined by weight will be given to the owner of the year's heaviest pumpkin.

In 2012, Thad Starr of Pleasant Hill, Ore., won first prize with a pumpkin that weighed 1,775 pounds.

At $6 per pound, Starr received a cash prize of $10,650.

Safeway has offered a bonus prize of $30,000 for any pumpkin that breaks the world record, which currently stands at 2,009 pounds.

Cash prizes will also be handed out to the grower the heaviest pumpkin grown in California's, the heaviest grown in San Mateo County, and the competition's "prettiest" pumpkin, which will be judged by audience applause.

The weigh-off is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. in the parking lot at 735 Main St., Half Moon Bay.

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