Read all comments and post your own

comment

    Even a team of superheroes could not slay the dragon named Puff at the second annual Moab Pumpkin Chuckin' Festival on Saturday.

    The Western Rivers Super Slingers ‒ a group of river guides and other employees from the Moab-based river company ‒ looked on helplessly last Saturday as Doyle James' dragon-shaped air cannon blasted the white and orange gourds some 1,500 feet across a field and over the fence at the old airport runway south of town. James, from Olathe, Colo., smiled broadly after each launch, as he watched the pumpkins disappear into the sky then kick up an explosion of dust as they landed far off in the distance.

    James' machine, a huge air drum fitted with a pipe that serves as the launching cannon, drew cheers and admiration from the crowd as well as the five other teams in the competition. To make Puff reach such distances, James fills the chamber with compressed air at pressures ranging from five to 90 pounds per square inch, depending on whether he is attempting to accurately blast the pumpkin at a target or simply achieve the greatest distance with a launch. Once the air tank is filled, the pressure is released through the pipe, launching the pumpkin he's stuffed inside like a cannon ball.

    "We just wanted to bring it over here and show it off before the big guns start coming," James said, noting that the festival, sponsored each October by the Moab-based Youth Garden Project, is only in its second year. "Olathe has a big pumpkin chucking festival and there will be one machine there this year that can launch a pumpkin more than 4,500 feet. I won't even bother to enter Puff in that contest."

    The other teams in this year's event used a variety of trebuchets ‒ medieval-type contraptions that use a counterweight and a sling to fling objects long distances. During last year's festival, the WabiSabi Pirates set the event's first distance record with a trebuchet pumpkin fling of 367 feet. But that record was far eclipsed by Puff's prodigal range.

    "I guess size really doesn't matter much with these," said Phillip Morse, also known as Robin on the Super Slingers' team, as he watched a pumpkin fly from Puff's mouth and arc through the sky. "We can't beat that."

    But the Super Slingers, which also included team members who were dressed as Batman, Superman, and The Flash, did have one distinct advantage over the high-powered air cannon ‒ accuracy. The superheroes were the only team to launch a pumpkin that made a direct hit on their target. The feat enabled them to capture first place in the accuracy round of the pumpkin chucking event.

    "It's not all about winning. It's for a good cause. The Youth Garden Project is great," Morse said. "But we're also doing this for fun. It's just a blast."

    All of the teams took their wins or defeats with good grace, noting that the true winner of the day was the Youth Garden Project. The Pumpkin Chuckin' Festival and harvest celebration serves as the non-profit group's main fall fundraiser, and Youth Garden staff said it is the most successful event so far. More than 1,000 people turned out to watch the pumpkin chucking action, listen to live music and participate in the seed-spitting, pie-eating, costume and recipe contests, or simply to browse in the many exhibition booths set up along the old airport landing strip.

    The non-profit Youth Garden Project works with children of all ages to promote community awareness and civic responsibility through organic gardening, hands-on education, and community service programs. Volunteers and supporters at the event described the Youth Garden as an important community asset for children and adults.

    "The word that comes to mind is "explosion,'" said Youth Garden volunteer Karen Henker. "It's not only the pumpkins that are exploding, but this event has exploded beyond expectations."

Read all comments and post your own comment