- An alternative event to Punkin Chunkin returns to Rehoboth Beach on Nov. 12
- We review Punkin Chunkin’s troubles over the years
- Fans share thoughts on potential new homes for Punkin Chunkin
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct the last name of Matt Holton.
This time last year the World Championship Punkin Chunkin’s Facebook page proclaimed: “Returning 2022.”
Since then, the nonprofit organization’s Facebook page has been crickets.
COVID-19, years of lawsuits and prohibitive insurance costs have disrupted the event. And it looks like the world-famous Punkin Chunkin event, where competitors blast pumpkins thousands of feet in the air, will be grounded for its third straight year.
Punkin Chunkin fan buys his own chunker
Matt Holton, 37, of Milton, is a longtime Chunkin fan who was born in 1985, a year before the inaugural event launched in Milton.
The Punkin enthusiast recalled the days when he rolled with about 45 people to the event.
“We took our own port-a-potty that was painted orange so we didn’t have to miss any action waiting in line to use the bathroom,” Holton recalled. “We cooked breakfast and lunch in the field and took the party back to my parents’ house afterwards for dinner and good times. Punkin Chunkin was an amazing time.”
Earlier this year, Holton announced on social media that he was channeling the spirit of “Pumpkin King” Jack Skellington.
“It has been a dream since I was a kid to own a Punkin’ Chunkin’ machine,” he wrote on his Facebook page in April. “It may never see a competition (or it just might) but backyard fun will be had. Soccer balls, tshirts, stuffed animals, and maybe ‘punkins’ if the right opportunity presents itself will go flying.”
Over the years, Holton said he’s befriended Punkin Chunkin competitors. He purchased his chunker for $2,000 from Georgetown resident Bob Korwek, who competed multiple times.
Originally, the chunker was named Bad Habit, then rebranded Bad Habit-Witches. Holton is considering adding: “A Man Who Can Chunk,” a playful twist on his construction company, A Man Who Can.
The Milton man plans to repaint the air cannon and add new decking. His goal is to show it off in parades “for advertising, and to bring back all those memories to the locals of Sussex County.”
Smashing pumpkins at Sling N’ Squash
While the future of Punkin Chunkin is up in the air, the spirit of the event is preserved by Big Chill Surf Cantina’s Sling N’ Squash in Rehoboth Beach. The free event features contestants throwing pumpkins in the air, using only their hands, and not machines.
There are divisions for men and women, plus cash prizes awarded to top throwers in each division: $500 (first place), $200 (second) and $100 (third). Contestants must be 21 or older and are required to preregister. The fee is $30 per competitor and includes a limited edition T-shirt.
Big Chill will donate $15 per registrant to benefit the nonprofit Rehoboth Community Resource Center, which offers services including a food bank, financial assistance for those facing eviction and more, according to its website.
The idea for Sling N’ Squash was born in 2017 after it was announced that Punkin Chunkin would be canceled. The legendary local event closed down after a lawsuit was filed by a woman who was critically injured by an exploding air cannon in 2016.
Matt Garbutt, marketing director of Big Chill Surf Cantina, said they love Punkin Chunkin. Their event isn’t intended to compete with it, he said, but to pay tribute to the age-old legacy of tossing pumpkins in lower Delaware.
“Somebody’s got to keep that tradition going, whether it’s, you know, literally throwing pumpkins with your hands or using the catapults,” Garbutt said.
For the first three years, Big Chill’s event was called Pumpkin’ Chuckin’. That is until they received a cease-and-desist letter from folks at the original Punkin Chunkin, stating Big Chill’s grassroots event “was trying to steal their likeness,” Garbutt explained.
Big Chill eventually settled on the name Sling N’ Squash, as pumpkins are part of the squash family.
Sling N’ Squash is expected to attract around 180 people this year, with pumpkins donated by Fifer Orchards in Camden.
While this event strives to drum up more excitement in Sussex, Garbutt said Punkin Chunkin is sorely missed in the First State.
“I think as [the Discovery Channel] built it up, there was definitely people that were coming here from different areas to see the event. So it helped to kind of put our little Sussex County, Delaware, on the map for those people.”
Punkin Chunkin woes
The world-famous Punkin Chunkin event began in 1986 in Milton and later moved to Bridgeville.
The competition took place for decades without major issues and gained popularity, becoming a staple event in Sussex County. It was televised in 2002 on the Discovery Channel and in later years on the Science Channel.
In 2013, however, a lawsuit was filed over a 2011 incident involving a volunteer and an ATV. The suit was eventually dismissed but caused the landowner hosting the event to back out.
Insurance troubles also began around this time.
Punkin Chunkin planned to move to Dover International Speedway in 2014, but the event was canceled a month before it was scheduled to occur, and again the following year.
The pumpkin-hurling event made a return to the Bridgeville area in 2016, but at that event, a television producer was seriously injured after being struck in the head by a metal plate that flew off an air cannon. She sued, but her case also was dismissed.
Punkin Chunkin was canceled for the next two years as organizers struggled with insurance costs and eventually began looking outside the area.
In 2019, the event moved to Rantoul, Illinois, the last time it was held.
Punkin Chunkin made its last Facebook post on Nov. 4, 2021, promising a return in 2022.
“2022 will be a crucial year for the World Championship Punkin Chunkin,” reads a statement on the organization’s website. “If we are not able to build the necessary support and get things back on track with a physical event, the future of our organization will remain uncertain.
“So, we are once again at the point where we need the public’s help to make Punkin Chunkin a reality. Most importantly, we need a wide-open space where we can let pumpkins fly.”
In that statement, organizers said, “WE LOVE DELAWARE!” before adding that a return to the First State would be difficult because Delaware has no laws limiting the amount for which an individual or organization can be sued.
Organizers considered hosting the event in Maryland or Virginia, but so far that has not happened.
Punkin Chunkin organizers also mention that “North Carolina also has laws favorable to our event and we have been in contact with an interested party.”
Fans have ideas for new home for Punkin
Terry Rogers of Lincoln is a Punkin Chunkin fan who went to her first event in the early ‘90s, before the Discovery Channel began covering it.
She wants the event to stay true to its roots.
“We miss the small-town feel of the event. I can tell you we will not go to the event if it is held outside of Sussex County,” Rogers said. “It is a Sussex County event and needs to remain in Sussex County.”
On Facebook, some fans agreed the event needs to stay in Delaware, while others lobbied for it to move to other states.
“We have lots of open space in South Texas,” championed one fan.
“How about Jersey? We have a lot of farm land up here,” another person suggested.
“come to CA. I bet you could do it at the Coachella grounds in the desert,” a fan lobbied.
Holton is disappointed Punkin Chunkin has been pretty quiet over the last year. But the guy with his own chunker is optimistic about the future.
“It is heartbreaking that there isn’t any more news on the future of the event in Delmarva,” Holton said. “I am sure they are doing everything they can to keep the Sussex County tradition alive.”
If the event continues, he might make the transition from just being a fan to a participant. “I would love to bring the new ‘A Man Who Can Chunk’ machine to the next competition.”
World Champion Punkin Chunkin Association is a nonprofit that raises money for scholarships and organizations that benefit youth and the local community, according to its website. The organizers could not be reached for comment for this story.
Sling N’ Squash will be at Big Chill Surf Cantina (19406 Coastal Highway, Rehoboth Beach) from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12. Admission is free. For more information, visit bigchillsurfcantina.com or (302 )727-5568.
Andre Lamar is the features/lifestyle reporter. If you have an interesting story idea, email Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com.
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