Participants launch pumpkins

The air was filled with bluegrass music and flying pumpkins Saturday during the Great Bloomington Pumpkin Launch at the Monroe County Fairgrounds.

Coordinated by the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department, the event featured five teams that competed to chuck a pumpkin the farthest and most accurately using homemade catapult and sling-launching devices.

Participants were high-school aged to adults.

It was the first time the event took place at the fairgrounds, which allowed for more space compared to past years at the Hilltop Garden and Nature Center. The event is in its ninth year.

“With the first time having it out here, it went really, really well,” said Bill Ream, community events coordinator for the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department. “The wind did pick up a little bit this year.”

The vast fields at the fairgrounds allowed for both distance and accuracy
competitions.

Ream said the farthest pumpkin traveled 615 feet.

“This type of event is always fun and a little unusual,” Ream said.

Engineer Ric Franke-Polz and his team, Fahrfunflinger, set the launch record of 660 feet in the distance competition in 2008.

The team finished second this year in the adult category.

In addition to Monroe County’s rendition of the launch event, Ream said pumpkin launching is popular in Morton, Ill.

Each year the city organizes a Punkin Chuckin similar to Monroe County’s in mid-October.

Besides participating in Bloomington’s contest,  Fahrfunflinger has also competed in Morton, receiving a combined total of four first-place finishes since 2005.

The team’s launching machine, which took six months to build, is made primarily out of PVC pipe and is 18 feet long.

Franke-Polz said the machine launches pumpkins at approximately 130 miles per hour and has also been used in watermelon launching competitions.

“Every year there’s improvements,” Franke-Polz said. “This machine is the product of when engineers get bored over the winter.”

An employee of U.S. Steele, Franke-Polz said he originally became interested in launching after going to a competition with his wife where he decided to build his own machine with his friends, who are also engineers.

Franke-Polz said the best part of the competition is the crowds and teams’ willingness to assist opponents who sometimes may be in need.

“It’s one of the few competitions you can be at where if someone breaks down, everybody up and down the line is there to help them get back into the game.” Franke-Polz said. “Everybody is always happy to help other teams and lend a hand when it’s needed.”

Follow reporter Brett Frieman on Twitter @brttfrmn.