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Leader was pumped as members of the Pumpkin Growers came together for the yearly weigh-in.
For the uninitiated, the Pumpkin Growers is a group out in Leader that has members who, like the name suggests, grow pumpkins each year using the club's very own seed batch. Throw out the growing season, folks work to grow the biggest, heaviest gourd they can manage. While they might not set any national records, each year they have pumpkins brought in that weigh hundreds of pounds.
Saturday night saw these green-thumbed growers come together to celebrate each other's efforts, weighing their orange giants, comparing techniques, and enjoying a night of revelry with music, dancing, refreshments, and like-minded hobbies.
Organizing everything on behalf of the Pumpkin Growers were Cody Resch and Chris Harnetski, two of the original members of the gourd growing group.
"It started off just as a group of friends," said Resch. "[We all] kind of decided to grow some pumpkins and have a party at the end of it."
That simple recipe for fun has blossomed into a group that over on Facebook has over 400 followers. Their continued passion has blossomed into something that has a huge draw for younger adults, who can join in at any point.
"This would be year six of it being opened up to the public," said Harnetski. "Growing it to what it is today, basically everyone from surrounding communities, they want to buy seeds, come grow a pumpkin, and we weigh it in and have the dance after."
This year's biggest three were grown by Cathy Cocks, with a 260.8 lbs monster of a gourd, Gary Wenzel with a respectable 227.6 lbs pumpkin, and John Allan, who grew a 193.2 utilizing the seed he purchased from the club.
All the money raised throw the seeds, the fundraisers, and other streams the Pumpkin Growers operate goes right back into their community. These kind-hearted botanical enthusiasts have raised money for a variety of organizations and groups in Leader, partnering with plenty of local businesses who support their efforts.
For the last couple of years, they have partnered with the likes of the Leader John Deere dealer, who has twice donated a zero-turn mower to be raffled off in support of a local organization.
"Last year we did Leader Minor Hockey," said Harnetski. "We team up with them and we raffle that off. That will be coming up."
"Just keep an eye out for that," added Resch. "We might add a few more prizes in for that too, just to make it more than just a mower. We'll see kind of where it goes."
Folks looking to keep up with the Pumpkin Growers, or who want to see about getting involved in what they do, can find them on Facebook.