Giant pumpkin squashes Versailles Pumpkin Show record

1,765-pound pumpkin biggest in 121 years. Watch Here:

(VERSAILLES, Ind.) -- There's a new record for the heaviest pumpkin in Versailles Pumpkin Show history.

Jim Gunther, of Corydon, entered a giant 1,765-pound pumpkin during the annual pumpkin weighing competition on Saturday.

It becomes the biggest pumpkin the festival has seen in the past 121 years of the contest.

Gunther's pumpkin tops the 1,709-pound entry that was submitted last year by Brandon Fisk of Franklin County.

"We spend five months growing pumpkins during the summer and this festival is the highlight of it, we look forward to this time of year because all of our work pays off," Gunther said.

Earlier this year, Gunther submitted a pumpkin at the Kentucky State Fair and placed second overall. He recently sold two of his giant pumpkins to Dollywood in Tennessee.

This weekend is the 120th Versailles Pumpkin Show. It began way back 1899 when local jeweler Alfred Beer came up with an advertising idea for his business. He promised a prize to whomever brought the biggest pumpkin.

The pumpkin judging competition is one year older than the Pumpkin Show, because the contest was held despite the festival begin cancelled during the 2020 pandemic.