Okotokians made quite a scene at the Country Living & Garden Centre on Saturday at the Okotoks Optimist Club's 2nd Annual Pumpkin Chunkin event.

They faced their share of hurdles this year, including snowfall, a bitter autumn chill, and three of the competitors backing out last minute due to malfunctioning equipment.

Optimist Club Member Brad Pond says there was some added pressure to put on a good show.

"So the fine folks at [Country Living & Garden Centre] hosted it for us. They were supposed to have a Fall market with a bunch of local vendors and everything like they did last year, but because of the weather, they pulled out. So we went from being the side attraction to the main attraction."

Despite all that, the Optimist Club managed to top last year's event, managing to raise around 100 pounds of food for the Okotoks Food Bank and nearly $800 (a portion of which will also go to the food bank) with an attendance of around 200 people.

Pond says he's pleased with the turnout, but the club is always hoping to top themselves the next time around.

"Next year we're hoping for... 10-12 competitors would be a sweet spot. We're really reaching out to Okotokians to see who's got the gourds to build a trebuchet and see if they can step up. The record to beat is about 400 feet."

He says he hopes to see Pumpkin Chunkin grow into a flagship event for Okotoks, akin to events like the Rotary Club's Soap Box Derby.

Anyone is welcome regardless of engineering and mechanical know-how, though Pond says it definitely requires some elbow grease.

"As you can imagine, you're not shooting spitballs or anything here. To launch a 15-20 pound pumpkin, you've gotta really kind of ratchet it down. It's quite a workout to man those trebuchets."

As for the future, the Okotoks Optimist Club will be showing off one of their trebuchet's at the Telus Spark on October 30th and 31st, and are planning their Mix and Mingle Event for next year.

Anyone looking to volunteer with the Okotoks Optimist Club can reach them at okotoksoptimist@gmail.com

To view their Facebook page, click here.

 

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