Get Your Best Guess In the Book by Noon on November 6th

Matt, Andy and Tim have cut the pumpkin open

Tom Tasselmyer is a good sport. Every year on the first Saturday in November, Andy, Alan, Matt, and Tim cut open the BIG pumpkin (this year's weighs in at 1540 pounds and is named Rolling Thunder) as Tom rolls up his sleeves in anticipation. Tom then starts to scoop out pumpkin guts and separates the seeds from the rest of the pumpkin mush.

The Tasselmyer Family 2006

I should mention that Tom's wife Laurie and their sons Matthew, Andrew, Michael, and Stephen have each assisted several times from year to year. The Tasselmyers count out the seeds fifty at a time and place them in clear cups.

Gloves are optional

Cups contain 50 seeds each

As the crowd watches, cups are lined up on two tables. You can see everybody second-guessing their entries in the pumpkin book. You see, since Rolling Thunder's arrival on October 6th, people have been writing their best guesses as to how many seeds are in the monstrous pumpkin in a book. Thousands of names fill many pages. The winner will receive a $300 Valley View Farms gift card. Second place wins a $200 card and third a $100 card.

Here are a few of the entered guesses

Donna will be searching the book for the winner

So, how many seeds will be in this year's pumpkin? Unfortunately, we won't know until Tom's job is through. Stay tuned.

That's a Lot of Pies!



Pumpkin characters created by Carey Wilkerson



Every year, Vally View Farm's owners Billy and Andy Foard and Matt Stromberger  travel "up the river" in search of The Great Pumpkin. Back in 1989, Gordon Thompson had grown the largest pumpkin ever; it weighed in at seven hundred and fifty-five pounds and was featured on our stage in Cockeysville, MD garnering worldwide attention. Fast forward to Wednesday, October 6 when one of the largest pumpkins ever grown will be unveiled at Valley View Farms at 10:00 am.

You've got to see it to believe it!

We've sent out the press releases to our areas news organizations, so you're sure to see it on TV and hear about it on the radio, but nothing compares to meeting this Mammoth up close and personal. This gargantuan pumpkin has been named Rolling Thunder. Bring the kids and the camera, see other really, really big pumpkins and join in on the fun. We have a straw maze for young children and a scary haunted house for older kids and brave adults. And, we're celebrating fall with mums, pumpkins, gourds, Indian corn and all sorts of other fall decorations.

By the way, this year's behemoth weighs 1540 pounds!