- Who
- Travis Gienger, Eric Jones
- What
- 642.6 centimetre(s)
- Where
- United States (Clarence)
- When
The largest jack o'lantern used a pumpkin grown by Travis Gienger (USA) with a circumference of 642.6 cm (253 in; 21 ft 1 in), as confirmed at the 50th Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off on 9 October 2023. After the event in Half Moon Bay, California, USA, the gigantic gourd, nicknamed "Michael Jordan", was transported to Clarence, near Buffalo, New York, where caricature artist Eric Jones (USA) carved it with a series of military-themed motifs on 7 November 2023 to commemorate Veterans Day (11 November).
Characters within the patriotic design included several veteran service people, an American eagle and a full-size service dog. The theme was chosen to resonate with the release of a film entitled Iron Will: Veterans' Battle with PTSD.
Thanks to his pumpkins, horticulture teacher Gienger is no stranger to GWR books, having grown several giants which have gone on to become record breakers. This veterans-themed jack o'lantern surpassed his previous record-breaking gourd "Maverick", a 242 in (614.7 cm) eagle-inspired creation carved by Mike Rudolph (USA) on 28 October 2022.
Tipping the scales prior to carving at 2,749 lb (1,246.9 kg), this prodigious specimen is also the heaviest pumpkin ever assessed in competition. This means it takes the title from the former heaviest jack o'lantern: a 1,217.5-kg (2,684-lb 2-oz) Atlantic Giant grown by Stefano Cutrupi (Italy) and carved by Udo Karkos (Germany) for the Ludwigsburg Pumpkin Festival in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on 6 November 2021.
