Annual pumpkin flinging event to take place in Ellesmere

The event will take place between 2pm and 4pm on Sunday 5th November with young and young-at-heart folk invited to bring their Halloween lanterns to the recreation field on Birch Road. They will then have them flung at a mystery target.

The free event is being brought to the town by Fizzgigs, the local community arts group.

The pumpkins will be flung via a trebuchet, a medieval siege engine. Visitors can name their jack-o-lanterns and the names are carefully recorded and the pumpkins are weighed.

After each fling distance measurements are taken and by the end of the afternoon a winner will be announced.

"Operating the trebuchet is hard work," Peter Cartlidge said. "About five hundred kilos of ballast will be in the trebuchet bucket which will be pulled into position for every pumpkin fling. So come early to be sure your pumpkin gets thrown. It’s not every day you get to see a trebuchet!"

At least 100 people have attended the event each year, with over 150 when the weather has been kind. 

Kate Westgate, a member of Fizzgigs, said: "It is lovely to hear the banter and joshing between folks, and also to see how seriously some of the children take the event! However, to ensure fairness, only one fling per family in the early stages."

All pumpkin flesh and unflung jack-o-lanterns will be collected from the field and taken for composting.