HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) - A
grower from Oregon
is the winner of this year's Half Moon Bay giant pumpkin contest with a gourd
weighing in at 1,775 pounds.
Forty-five-year-old Thad Starr from Pleasant Hill, Ore.,
set a contest record with his pumpkin Monday, beating last year's winner by 71
pounds.
Starr, who has won the contest twice
before, said he plans to use the $10,650 in prize money to take his family to Disneyland.
His pumpkin will be on display this
weekend at the Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival.
The runner-up came in at 1,521
pounds. That pumpkin is also expected to be on display this weekend.
(Copyright
2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)