The Shadow
RONCEVERTE W.Va. (WVDN) – Sarah Baker of Ronceverte grew a giant pumpkin last year as a fun family project with her kids, and they fell in love with it, so they decided to do it again this year! What she didn’t plan on was winning the coveted prize of having her giant pumpkin “Peach” displayed at Dollywood this year. Weighing in at a whopping 740 pounds, Baker had this to say, “We are ecstatic that our 740-pound Atlantic giant “Peach” was chosen to be on display at Dollywood for their Harvest Festival. We were able to travel as a family to see it in person last week. After working hard for months to grow it, then being able to see our pumpkin on display in Tennessee for thousands of people to marvel at each day, was so rewarding! Being able to see all the people in awe was fun for all.”
She didn’t stop there, however. She grew yet another giant pumpkin called “Daisy.” This girl was 728 pounds and won the highly sought-after Howard Dill Award for the most attractive pumpkin. The family is thrilled that it will be sculpted and on display at the famous Pumpkin House in Kenova, West Virginia, where over 10,000 carved pumpkins delight visitors every year.
Baker has great mentorship at The Mountain State Giant Growers where the best growers in West Virginia convene. She is overjoyed to be a contributing member of the group and is grateful for all the hard work of the MSGG where they were able to have their very first West Virginia GPC official giant weigh-off this year.
If you want to try your luck too, here’s where you can sign up and gather information: To find the Mountain State Giant Growers on Facebook, search The Great Pumpkin Commonwealth. To view the pumpkin house, look up Kenova Pumpkin House.
Baker is no stranger to being famous as she was heralded last year for growing her giants right here in West Virginia. Her children were able to share the joy of the giant “Daisy” at their elementary school with their classmates, most likely planting seeds of curiosity and hope to grow some of their own. Baker enjoys teaching her children the priceless art of planting and growing and spending that kind of quality time with them. They love telling people about their gardening experiences and being able to show their pumpkins to everyone.
The following link is from Dollywood’s excerpt on the Fall Harvest Festival, which features Baker’s incredible work. https://www.dollywood.com/themepark/Festivals/Harvest-Festival?utm_source=google_ads&utm_medium=paidsearch-smc_dw&utm_campaign=fall23-harvest_festival&gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwysipBhBXEiwApJOcu_Jny6XsqUQWjALmL-8mMczxjmwoRrwVrAUvXfsYTmxGBC4Y5otGMxoCz10QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
If you see Sarah Baker out and about, be sure to congratulate her on such incredible contributions to Greenbrier County and the growing community.
