Dozens of visitors turned out at the Gebhard family’s Hardhof farm in Wildegg, in Switzerland’s canton of Aargau, for the traditional pumpkin long-distance throw, an event that marks the end of the pumpkin season in the town, nau.ch reported.
The throw took place last Sunday on the Hardhof grounds, where competitors could choose between three pumpkin sizes, letting even children try their luck. Those playing it safe used an underhand toss into the field behind the farm — any shot that struck the shed roof was disqualified. More adventurous throwers hurled their pumpkins like a baseball or handball toward the edge of the woods and reached distances of up to 50 meters.
Three Sizes, Three Chances to Throw
Organizers offered three pumpkin sizes, a format that let younger participants compete alongside adults.
The Shed Roof Rule Keeps Throws Honest
Competitors aiming for consistency used the underhand throw toward the field behind the farm buildings. Anyone whose pumpkin hit the shed roof saw the throw struck from the results, a rule that kept the long line of throwers moving and the distances comparable.
The riskier approach — throwing overhand toward the treeline — paid off with measured distances reaching about 50 meters, according to the report.
Catapults and Cannons Close Out the Afternoon
Catapults, trebuchets and compressed-air cannons launched pumpkins in a spectacle that organizers paired with food and drinks at the bar and the small festival tent, letting the afternoon wind down on site.
With the pumpkin season drawing to a close in Wildegg, the Hardhof pumpkin-throwing event has become a traditional local marker of the season’s end — a farm tradition where the harvest literally flies.
Worth a look
