By Glenn Rolfe

The World Championship Punkin Chunkin Association has a need: a tract of land preferably on Delmarva suitable to serve as the new home for Punkin Chunkin, a gourd-slinging event that the group says is at a pivotal crossroad.

“We want to talk to anybody with 200 acres or more. What it really comes down to is, we need to have an event, and if we are only able to chunk on 200 acres, then we’re going to have to downsize to almost like 1990s’ size, when it was at Hudson Fields,” said WCPCA President Frank Payton of Milton. “But if we want to have our grand event, we need to talk to somebody with 600 acres or more. Two hundred acres we will have to eliminate the air cannons.”

In a statement issued last week on its website, WCPCA pegs 2022 as crunch time for the future of Punkin Chunkin.

“If we are not able to build the necessary support and get things back on track with a physical event, the future of our organization will remain uncertain. So, we are once again at the point where we need the public’s help to make Punkin Chunkin a reality. Most importantly, we need a wide-open space where we can let pumpkins fly,” the release stated.

Born in 1986 and nurtured in Sussex County, the event grew from a friendly backyard-type competition to an internationally famous extravaganza that in its heyday attracted tens of thousands of spectators and chunking teams, machines and contraptions from the Delmarva region, the United States and even aboard, including Australia.

Punkin Chunkin was last held in Delaware in 2016. That event was marred on the final day of competition when an air cannon malfunctioned and a female employee for a company filming the event was critically injured when she was struck in head by the metal trap door from that explosion. A lawsuit was filed and resolved, according to the WCPCA.

In the 2011 Punkin Chunkin, a volunteer spotter sustained severe spinal injuries an ATV mishap while spotting. That precipitated a 2013 lawsuit, which sought damages in excess of $4 million. The suit was resolved in June 2015.

Legislation proposed by State Sen. Brian Pettyjohn, R-Georgeown, in hopes of keeping Punkin Chunkin in Delaware faced strong opposition from the Delaware Trial Lawyers Association. The bill, which would have protected special events held in Delaware, such as Punkin Chunkin, by placing a liability cap on certain damages, was not released from committee.

There was an attempt to move Punkin Chunkin from its rural Bridgeville venue to Dover International Speedway’s Woodlands, home to the Firefly Music Festival, but those plans for 2014 and 2015 never materialized.

Punkin Chunkin, which returned to the Bridgeville venue in 2016, was not held locally in 2017 or 2018.

There was no Punkin Chunkin in 2020.

In 2019, Punkin Chunkin was staged in Rantoul, Illinois, at the former Chanute Air Force Base, drawing about 30 teams. None were from Delaware.

In comparison, there were 110 teams in 2016 — the last time Punkin Chunkin was held in Sussex County, its home for every previous event its inception in 1986.

In 2018, Aurora, Colorado, hosted a major pumpkin chunking event.

So, the search continues for a new home for what has become known as The Chunk.

“Maryland and Virginia have limitations on how much somebody can sue for, especially when they come to an event like ours. Maryland and Virginia allow people to assume some sort of responsibility. Delaware does not,” Mr. Payton said. “We are looking for a state that has that in place, and fortunately Maryland and Virginia do, and that is still part of Delmarva. It would be really nice to get a place on the Delmarva region.”

If not, Punkin Chunkin’s existence may end. Merger is another possibility.

“Aurora, Colorado is one of our sanctioned events. They were the second biggest event in the nation,” Mr. Payton said.

“That is one thing that we have always thought about, like if we can’t get back on track, then the World Championship Punkin Chunkin may happen in Aurora, Colorado. The good thing with them is they have the town involved. It’s almost like a town event, so they have the municipality immunity or something like that allows them to chunk.”

Mr. Payton, WCPCA president since 2016, says Punkin Chunkin as a regional attraction is up against time.

“I don’t know how much more fight I have in me,” said Mr. Payton. “Like I told our board, we would have to figure something out. If 2022 doesn’t happen, we just need to find the next biggest sanctioned event that we sanction to see if we can merge with them. That can be anywhere in the country.”

Early 2022 is the timeframe for a decision.

“If we can have it on state land or county land, I think we can do something in Delaware,” Mr. Payton said. “With a new location we’ll need to start planning in February. If it gets closer to June it would be too late. The first quarter would be ideal. The second quarter would make it very iffy and third quarter, no way.”