Punkin’ Chuckin’ Contest in Pekin cut to 1 day
PEKIN — The annual Punkin’ Chuckin’ Contest has been cut to one day due to religious concerns.
Pumpkins are scheduled to fly Saturday at the event in the central Illinois community of Pekin.
But the (Peoria) Journal Star reports that the pumpkins will then be grounded because a landowner who allows the Morton Tourism Association to hold the spectacle asked that his land not be used Sunday due to his religious convictions.
Pumpkin’ Chuckin’ has been a two-day event since it moved to the fields in 2002.
Teams compete in air cannon, catapult and trebuchet categories to see who can toss their pumpkins the farthest. The record is 4,859 feet.
Spokeswoman Susan Pyles says about 500 pumpkins will take to the skies Saturday.
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