How Big Will This Year's Winning Pumpkin Be?

As little Linus spent year after year, sitting in his backyard pumpkin patch, waiting for the Great Pumpkin to arrive bearing presents - perhaps what he should have done was head on over to Half Moon Bay!

With winners weighing in at , Half Moon Bay is undoubtedly home to the Bay Area's most giant pumpkins - and you don't have to wait much longer to catch a glimpse of this year's big ones. The 38th Annual Pumpkin Weigh-off is gearing up to roll into town, once again, on Monday, Oct. 10 from 7-11 a.m. at 753 Main Street in downtown.

Known as the "Heavyweight Championship of Gargantuan Gourds," the Pumpkin Weigh-off, sponsored by Safeway grocery stores, offers a $5,000 prize to anyone who can break the world record.

The top five pumpkins each year win the coveted honor of being on display at the famous Half Moon Bay Art and Pumpkin Festival, as well as a share in more than $20,000 in additional prizes. The top pumpkin of the year gets a whopping $6 per pound - in other words, 2010 winner Ron Root took home $10,210 for his 1,535-pound leviathan last year! Other prizes include $500 for the "most beautiful pumpkin," judged for its size, shape and color.

The Art and Pumpkin festival will take place the weekend of Oct. 15-16 this year.

For more information on this year's Pumpkin Weigh-Off or Arts and Pumpkin Festival, visit the Half Moon Bay Coastside Chamber of Commerce website or the website of Miramar Events, which produces the annual events.