Punkin Chunkin to return in 2017 despite past incidents
Punkin Chunkin lives, event organizers said in Lewes on Saturday.
Frank Payton, president of the World Championship Punkin Chunkin Association, read from a prepared statement at the new Lewes Public Library on Feb. 11, in which he emphasized the three-decade tradition that the event has built in the area and the importance of the annual event to the community. The event will return to the Wheatley farm in 2017 in the first weekend of November.
"Punkin Chunkin has attracted hundreds of thousands of spectators to Delmarva since 1986," Payton said. "We are a Delaware tradition, and we have become a part of Americana."
Payton said that the nonprofit organization is "passionate" about returning the bulk of the funds raised at each event to the community. He estimated that more than $1 million has been given back in the form of donations to other nonprofit organizations.
An ongoing relationship with local fire departments, DelDOT and the Delaware State Police was mentioned as Payton segued into addressing speculation about the event's future.
"There has been a lot of speculation," he said. "The Science Channel has notified us that they will not be returning in 2017."
Payton described the split as amicable, but noted that Science was a major sponsor of the event. He said that the association will talk to anyone "interested in a mutually beneficial partnership" for the 2017 event.
"This is too important not to continue," he said.
He had no idea where or if the 2017 event will air on television.
After a two-year hiatus, the 2016 Punkin Chunkin was cut short when two spectators were showered with metal debris after a cannon malfunction. A woman was critically injured.
Payton had no comment when asked about the woman's condition and whether a lawsuit might result from that injury.
A former event volunteer sued the venue owner in 2013 for injuries sustained in an ATV accident during Punkin Chunkin. Although the suit was eventually dismissed, the land owner immediately evicted the event, which was suspended in 2014 and 2015 while organizers tried to find a new home for it.
Ongoing concerns about safety after these injuries led to speculation about the future of Punkin Chunkin.
Punkin Chunkin has drawn participants and spectators from all over the country to watch orange gourds flung long distances. Competitors spend small fortunes and much of the year tweaking their homemade slings, catapults, centrifugal force launchers, trebuchets and pneumatic cannons to win awards for the longest shot. Although similar events now exist around the world, the Delaware version was the first and the largest, drawing over 20,000 visitors in 2007 alone.
Proceeds from the event benefit local charities. Punkin Chunkin has raised over $1 million since 2000.
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Punkin Chunkin began in 1986 in Lewes. Rapid improvements in launching technology and an increasing number of spectators forced organizers to look for more space in 2007.
A farm in Bridgeville became the show's permanent home until 2013, when the ATV lawsuit caused owner Dale Wheatley to cancel the lease.
Plans to move it to Dover International Speedway for 2014 were squashed when organizers could not obtain liability insurance. It also was found that the new venue was not long enough for the longer range shots.
Worried that the 2014-15 hiatus may have cost them fans, organizers also launched a secondary preview event near Vienna, Maryland in August of 2016, the Great American Watermelon Blast.