Charlie Bernstrom won his fifth giant pumpkin champion title at the Great Commonwealth Pumpkin Weigh-Off at the Roland Pumpkin Fair last Saturday.
The Lancaster, Minnesota native’s entry tipped the scales at 1,715.5 pounds, a few hundred pounds shy of the 2,004-lb, record-setting monster he won the event with in 2024.
Prior to the weigh-in, Bernstrom had estimated this year’s entry could be around 1,800 pounds, so he wasn’t too far off the mark.
“It’s always so much work to get to the scale, and it’s very rewarding,” he said after receiving the trophy once again. “We love coming to Roland. It’s one of the best weigh-offs in the world. We’re lucky to have it close to us, and it’s a ton of fun.”
Bernstrom observed that this growing season presented some challenges.
“We were really dry until about the fourth of July, then we were really wet,” he noted. “We lost two of them this year that got splits in them, so it just shows you how hard it is to get one to the scale, and all that work that goes into it.
“The one last year didn’t look that much bigger,” he recalled. “They can just be more dense, and you never know. I don’t pre-weigh them, so I have no clue.
“I’m still excited … it’s all the hard work you put into it. The surprise is kind of actually fun, not knowing what it is until it’s on there.”
Bernstrom noted it is always fun to see how quickly the pumpkins can progress through the growing season, as they can grow 40 to 60 pounds a day.
“So that’s cool, seeing them grow fast,” he said. “People like pumpkins, and just seeing the reaction after … and you get to meet so many people at these weigh-offs that you see once a year.”
Bernstrom also noted they enjoy having their kids involved, including in naming the pumpkins. In this case, the winner was dubbed Kevin after the character Kevin McCallister from the movie Home Alone.
“Harper, our three-year-old, watches Home Alone almost every day, so she named it Kevin,” said Bernstrom. “Each year, each girl gets to name a pumpkin, and that’s what Harper named hers.”
The kids are very much hands-on with the family’s entries each year.
“They go down there, and they help weed. They know what burn weed is, so they know what weeds not to touch. They’re careful with the pumpkins, and each week we take a picture, they sit on their pumpkins,” Bernstrom said. “I drive school bus, so then Briar will water them in the morning. They all kind of help out a little bit.”
Given this is his fifth victory at the fair with wins in 2024, 2018, 2017 and 2014, Bernstrom was asked about his secret to success.
“Each pumpkin is about 900 square feet, and it’s about 100 gallons of water a day,” he noted. “We live by the river, so that helps. I just pump it out of the river. And then fertilizer and making sure bugs don’t get it and disease and just lots of time.
“Just ask other growers questions, I’ll help anybody. Everybody will be very willing to help,” he suggested.
Bernstrom’s winning pumpkin is now destined for the annual pumpkin drop he helps organize to support the Kittson Country Literacy Council, which provides free books to newborns to five year olds.
Some of the other scale-busting pumpkins at the fair this year were owned by the 2020 and 2019 winner Cornie Banman from the R.M. of Stanley, who came in second with one weighing 1,522.5 pounds. Helen Banman took third place with a pumpkin weighing 1,427 pounds.
