Pumped for pumpkins

Enthusiasm wasn't squashed at Christianson's Nursery northeast of La Conner Saturday.

The opposite was the case.

Squash, in the form of giant pumpkins, enthused throngs of people who descended upon Christianson's on a beautiful warm and sun-splashed afternoon the last day of summer.

Christianson's Nursery held its annual Skagit Valley Giant Pumpkin Festival, drawing growers and fans alike from throughout the Pacific Northwest. Hundreds of parked cars made for a jam-packed Saturday afternoon, with folks who basked in the amazing weather and partook of a wide range of attractions – from tractor rides and a hay bale maze to food and snack vendors and face painting.

"We're about at full capacity," co-owner John Christianson said, "which is great for our vendors. We want them to do well."

The weighing of pumpkins was the main focus.

The heaviest three pumpkins combined weighed just shy of two tons. The heavyweight winner was Lee Roof of Whidbey Island with a pumpkin weighing 1,548.5 pounds, followed by Joel Holland of Sumner, WA at 1,351 pounds and Harvey Cardwell of Oregon City, OR. at 1,096.5 pounds.

Bellingham science teacher Sam Stoner proudly wore his ribbon for having won the Howard Dill Award, acknowledging his entry of the event's "prettiest pumpkin," the fourth-largest overall, weighing in at 986.5 pounds.

"Being a teacher," Stoner said, "I can take summers off to mess around with pumpkins."

It typically takes four to five months to grow giant pumpkins from seed, with some able to put on 30 pounds daily during the season.

"It kind of gets in your blood," another grower explained to onlookers, noting that loading the pumpkins on pallets for transport can sometimes cause the enlarged gourds to split.

Sean and Shelly Forster drove to Christianson's from Wenatchee for the day.

"We're big pumpkin enthusiasts," Sean Forster told the Weekly News.

Afterward, the couple planned to check out La Conner and have dinner on the waterfront.

Ian and Elise Travitzky of Bellingham brought their children, Waylon and Layla, to see the pumpkins and enjoy the array of kids' activities.

"We love La Conner," they said.

Christianson said he easily surpassed his daily 10,000 steps making the rounds between various highlights.

"The No. 1 thing we do," he said during a brief stop, "is the tractor rides. Everybody loves them."

Tractor driver Bryan McCormick made repeated loops, pulling a trailer filled with multiple generations of riders.

Christianson credited his daughter, Emma, with how well she placed vendor booths and located activity areas.

"She did a really great job," he said.

For her part, Emma Christianson said her family eagerly anticipates the pumpkin festival.

"It's one of our biggest events of the year," she said. "We love it so much, not just the pumpkins but also everything else that goes along with it."

The Christiansons were thankful for the weather.

"It changes everything," Emma Christianson said, recalling when rain was an unwelcome presence. "We've been really lucky with the weather the last five years."

The summerlike conditions helped make forever memories, with attendees taking selfies and posing their children in front of the long line of pumpkins all afternoon.

It was, after all, a picture-perfect day.