The Youth Garden Project’s third annual Pumpkin Chuckin’ Festival was a smashing success, and not just from the perspective of the pumpkins.

“We had perfect weather, and it was just a good time,” said Youth Garden Project Director Jen Sadoff. “Ten dollars for a whole day of fun is a good deal.”

Sadoff said that paid attendance totaled more than 1,700 people, an increase of a few hundred from last year. More than 100 volunteers were on hand to make sure things ran smoothly, she added.

“Everything went well,” said Sadoff. “We learned a lot from the past two years on how to make things go better. It was very smooth.”

The event is a fundraiser for the Youth Garden Project.

There were 10 competitors in this year’s chucking contest – eight trebuchets and two slingshot-style pumpkin launchers. Local thrift store WabiSabi ended up as the overall winner in both categories, with their Plumed Pumpkin crew taking first in the slingshot category and the Pumpkin Pirates repeating as champs in the trebuchet category. Their three scored tosses averaged more than 100 yards each.

A team of engineering students from the College of Eastern Utah in Price actually had a longer toss, but their trebuchet device encountered mechanical problems afterward, Sadoff said.

Teams were judged on both distance and accuracy, and were also given style points for presentation. Each time a gourd took flight, the sizable crowd of onlookers oohed and ahhed in appreciation.

In addition to the pumpkin chucking, there were a variety of other activities to keep festival-goers entertained throughout the day. Small children played in a sandbox and hay-bale maze, and the Grand County Public Library brought in puppeteers and storytellers to entertain the crowd.

Adults seemed to enjoy participating in contests, including a pumpkin seed spitting competition and a pie-eating contest. The top adult spitter managed to launch his seed more than 25 feet, and a 9-year-old boy from Bluff won the juvenile category with a spit of nearly 18 feet.

In the pie-eating contest, a petite woman named Hannah wolfed down two slices of pumpkin pie ahead of her 15 or so mostly male competitors to emerge as the surprise victor. When the announcer asked what her secret was, she replied, “I have a big mouth.”

Another hit was the first-ever wiener dog races, which attracted some 20 canine competitors. Ron Georg’s female dachshund named Wina (short for Edwina) was the winning wiener.

Many attendees were dressed in Halloween costumes, and prizes were awarded to the top kids’ costumes. The 30 or so vendors offered a variety of food, crafts, products, and games. Musicians, including a group from California, entertained the crowd with mellow music.

“I’m already getting excited for next year,” said Sadoff, noting that the 2009 event will fall on Halloween.