Oklahoma record-breaking pumpkin on display at Washington County Free Fair

DEWEY, Okla. - A super-sized pumpkin isn't the only attraction at this weekend's Washington County Free Fair in Dewey, but it is a major one, according to fair officials.

The giant orange gourd weighing in at 880 pounds squashes the state record of 685 pounds set by Haskell resident Pat Benner Haskell in 2009, according to backyardgardener.com.

The weight of the vegetable, grown in the garden of Bartlesville Central Middle School teacher Tom Rovenstine, has not yet been certified, according to Washington County Free Fair Manager Pam Pollock.

She told 2NEWS that after fair displays are returned Saturday at 3 p.m., a forklift will take the pumpkin from its current resting place in the main fair building and will load it on a truck and trailer rig. The rig which will have already been weighed empty at a certified scale will return to the scale bearing the pumpkin to obtain a certified weight.

“If (the weight) holds up, he will have broken the state record by 200 pounds,” she said.

Other attractions at this 98 ^th Annual Washington County Free Fair, which opened to the public Thursday and remains open until Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., include needlework, quilting, culinary, canning, 4H and other exhibits.

Friday hosts an open pet show, plus a dairy goat show at 6 p.m. and a dairy cattle show at 7 p.m. Saturday will host a variety of livestock shows throughout the day.