What is stranger than a gigantic pumpkin? As if in answer to that question, Landmark resident Dan Friesen hollowed out his 1037 pound pumpkin, fastened an old electric motor to it, and drove it like a boat around a friend’s pond.

Friesen grows pumpkins for a hobby and says it has always been on his bucket list to grow one large enough to support his own weight. “Our previous best was 720 pounds,” explains Friesen, “which was almost enough to support an adult, but being over 1000 pounds we figured this was the year.”

The boat was asymmetrical, adds Friesen, which made it difficult to balance, nevertheless he notes he was able to get a small wake as he cruised around the waters.  

“I’m not the first one to do this,” admits Friesen, who owns a book about growing giant pumpkins where he saw the photographs that originally inspired him. "I've always enjoyed observing things that grow. My uncle grew pumpkins when I was a child and that's something that interested me. So I decided that when I had some time and garden space, that's something I would do too."

According to Friesen, recent weather conditions allowed farmers and hobbyists all across the southeast to grow abnormally large pumpkins. And while his pumpkin provided enough resources to make many pies, Friesen says it was nowhere near the biggest in Manitoba.

Though he set no provincial record, Friesen indicates the massive gourd was a personal record for him and he was glad to finally achieve his goal of being carried by his pumpkin this year.

The team that helped launch the pumpkin contraption (all photo and video credit: Dennis Fast)