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It was a record-setting Saturday at the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth weigh-off at the Roland Pumpkin Fair, with one grower bringing in a record-setting pumpkin which surpassed the 2,000 lbs mark.
Lancaster, Minnesota grower Charlie Bernstrom established yet another high mark at the event. The 2014, 2017 and 2018 weigh-off winner was crowned the 2024 champion with a monster that crushed the previous record he set in 2018, which was 1,753.5 lbs. Saturday morning his giant weighed in at 2,004 lbs, making it the largest winning entry ever at Roland Pumpkin Fair.
"I've always wanted to bring a big pumpkin here, and it's always been the goal, and to be able to do it was really, really cool," shared Bernstrom shortly after the win.
This is the first time in the history of the Roland Pumpkin Fair an entry has surpassed the 2,000 lbs mark.
The occasion may have come last year courtesy of Bernstrom, but the pumpkin slated for the competition had a crack in it, which he discovered when he went to pick it the day before the weigh-off. Because the crack went into the cavity of the pumpkin, it would have been disqualified. Just for fun, they weighed it at home, and it was 2,100 lbs.
"I didn't get mad," said Bernstrom at last year's weigh-off when he was asked about the bad luck. "I guess you expect it, but I just was kind of in shock, because I had no clue it was going to be like that until we lifted the pumpkin. It was still a good sound, pumpkin, but... not able to compete in Roland."
Pumpkin growing a family affair
The Bernstrom family first entered a pumpkin in Roland in 2013, and has been a regular fixture since.
"We started growing pumpkins, and I think somebody came into our gas station and they were talking about it," said Bernstrom when asked how he heard about the Roland weigh-off. "We get lots of Canadians that come through, and I'm pretty sure, that's how I heard about it, and then brought a pumpkin up. This is where it all started for us."
His daughters have been part of the fun since the beginning, helping care for and grow them, as well as name them.
"To start the year, each girl gets to pick a pumpkin plant, and then they name the pumpkin whatever they want," explained Bernstrom. "When they get around maybe 400 lbs, they sit on them each week (and we take a picture), so we try and shrink the girls. That's what our goal is, to shrink the girls."
And whose pumpkin was it that won in Roland? It was Blake Bernstrom and "Jasmine."
After doing this for more than a decade, what keeps the passion going?
"I guess just growing stuff to make it big is really cool, and then now it's got to be a family affair," he said. "Pumpkins put smiles on people's faces, and we've got to know lots of friends from the weigh-offs."
Giant destined to be dropped
For years the Bernstrom's have been donating their pumpkins to a fundraiser in their hometown of Lancaster, and that's where Saturday's record setter is destined to go.
"Every year we have the pumpkin drop in Lancaster, and we raise the pumpkins and we drop them from a crane," he said. "The money goes to the County Literacy Council, so each kid, baby to a five-year-old, gets a book."
And you can expect to see Bernstrom and his family back at the Roland Pumpkin Fair.
"They just do it right," he shared. "You see all the people in the the crowd. It's just a very fun environment, and they get lots of people here. It's one of the favourite weekends of the year."
With files from Ty Hildebrand