People Dressed as Elvis and Shrek Just Raced Giant Hollowed-Out Pumpkins in Oregon

A giant pumpkin regatta in Oregon grabs the attention of many people from around the country, as a great way to celebrate Halloween and the fall holidays.

Picture this: a guy dressed as Buddy the Elf paddling a 1,000-pound hollowed-out pumpkin across a lake in Oregon, competing against someone in a hot dog costume and another person dressed as Shrek. That’s exactly what went down at the West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta in Tualatin, where costumed competitors race massive gourds grown by the Pacific Giant Vegetable Growers. The event has been running since 2004 and draws huge crowds who watch paddlers navigate these orange boats that take a full dumpster’s worth of seeds and pulp to hollow out.

The event and the boats are just awesome

The Tualatin pumpkin boat race takes a village to ensure it can be pulled off every year. Most competitors get their hollowed out pumpkin boats from Pacific Giant Vegetable Growers, but they have to carve them out themselves. Some participants grow their own vegetables for the West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta 2025, which was the name of this year’s race. Participants are in costume for the pumpkin race, and it takes cranes to lift the giant orange gourds into the water. Most of these pumpkins weigh 1,000 pounds or more.

The giant pumpkin regatta in Oregon is an amazing festival

Oregon hosts many fall festivals, but few match the fun and entertainment of the regatta. With participants dressed in their favorite Halloween costumes, the large pumpkins are paddled down the river. Many participants have their own reasons for rowing these large gourds down the river, but everyone can get in on the fun by either rowing in costume or watching from the shore as they cheer on the different pumpkin boats.

More than twenty years and counting

The West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta has been going strong since 2004, making it more than two decades of paddlers dressing up and rowing down the river. Some participants in the giant pumpkin regatta in Oregon aren’t lucky enough to make it to the finish line because their boats sink or fall apart during the competition. It’s always a bit of a challenge for the racers, and all of them smell like the pumpkin innards they can become covered in while racing. Regardless of the smell or the fate of some boats, it’s a great time and a wonderful celebration of fall.

Setting records in a strange way

Gary Kirstensen celebrates a distinction that no other racer has right now. He has set the Guinness World Record distance of paddling a pumpkin boat. The record he broke this year is his own, and now that distance is 58 miles, which he paddled on the Columbia River. He’s been competing in the regatta since 2013 and paddled a 936-pound pumpkin boat to victory this year, crossing the finish line triumphantly as he won the first race in the annual regatta held in Tualatin, Oregon.

Bigger pumpkins set records at the giant pumpkin regatta in Oregon

The race is a niche event, and not everyone can be part of the giant pumpkin regatta in Oregon. Brad Bahns has been racing pumpkins at the event for four years and dressed as a character from “Squid Game” for the latest race. He grows his own pumpkin, which takes six months to complete. That’s pretty impressive, but so is the size of his pumpkin, which tipped the scales at 1,376 pounds, which is a personal record for him.

Dressing for success doesn’t mean a suit and tie

Participants in the giant pumpkin regatta held in Oregon wear various costumes. For the 2025 race, costumes ranged from Guy Fieri to a UPS driver. One participant dressed as Elvis (you can’t have a costume race without an Elvis), and another as Luigi from the Mario games. Another participant was dressed and painted as Shrek, which was also a common costume in the crowd. It’s easy to see how the crowd and the contestants get into the fun with the costumes and the crazy pumpkin boats.

Some racers try to make their boats lighter to make them faster, others look to have the heaviest pumpkin before they begin carving, and some are simply hoping to make it to the finish line without their boat sinking. Regardless of the personal goal, the West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta is a huge hit and a fun fall event. Maybe you should schedule a visit to Tualatin next year so that you can witness the giant pumpkin regatta which has become an annual celebration in Oregon.