Lewes – Punkin Chunkin will be returning to Bridgeville, Delaware in 2017 on November 3rd, 4th & 5th with your support, according to Frank Payton, president of the World Championship Punkin Chunkin Association.
For over three decades, we have planted the seed of “Who can Chunk a Pumpkin the Furthest”, Payton said in a statement released on Saturday. “Each year a champion is crowned with nothing more than bragging rights that they are King and/or Queen of this unique World Championship event.”, he continued.
“We are a Delaware tradition and we have become a part of Americana”
The event has attracted hundreds of thousands of spectators to the state since it’s inaugural event in 1986, according to the statement. He continued with”We are a Delaware tradition and we have become a part of Americana.”
“In the past months, there has been a lot of speculation as to the future of our association and world championship event. The Science Channel has notified us that they will not be returning in 2017. “, Payton said. In 2016 the event, just returning from a two year hiatus, was halted when two people were injured after a cannon malfunctioned, leaving one in critical condition.
The hiatus came after a 2013 ATV accident and subsequent legal action caused event organizers to postpone the event for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. It wasn’t immediately clear if the 2016 accident was the reason for the Science Channel ‘s withdrawal.
“Over 1 Million dollars has been given back to the community”
“We have appreciated their relationship over the years in helping us promote our event worldwide and wish them the best. With them withdrawing from the event, a major portion of the funding that we need to operate has left with them. We are in the market to establish new mutually beneficial partnerships for 2017.” Payton said.
With all the money that we raise each year, it goes back to the community. We donate locally and nationally to other non-profits and scholarships for deserving youths. Since the year 2000, we have calculated that over 1 Million dollars has been given back to the community and its youth.
This doesn’t take into account money spent utilizing State and County entities for our 3-day event. In recent years, this has been in excess of $100,000 dollars per year. Utilizing DOT for traffic control, and having EMS and the Bridgeville Fire Departments on hand for emergencies while working hand in hand with the Delaware State Police is necessary to make sure that we have a well-organized and safe event.
We hope that the local community has benefited from the millions of dollars in the economic impact that our event brings to the area.
We hope that all those that have benefited over the million plus dollars in donations through a multitude of non-profit organizations and scholarships feel that we are worth saving.We hope that our non-profit organization will overcome any future obstacles with the support of the community as a whole.We hope that children can benefit from the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) aspects of what our event has to offer in the imagination of our future.
In a Facebook post he said “We look forward to continuing our philanthropic tradition of raising money for other non-profits and deserving youth.”
“We will be moving forward this year. There is too much at stake to give up now.”
We will be moving forward this year. There is too much at stake to give up now. We have the commitment from the farmer for the use of their land for 2017. If you are a network that is looking for a highly rated topic for a television show, we want to talk to you.
If you are company that would like to take the full advantage of our advertising capability and the attention that we receive, we want to talk to you. If you are an individual that wants us to continue on, we want to hear from you. If you wish to see the Chunk continue, we need your support now more than ever. We have established a donation page on our website, www.punkinchunkin.com/weneedhope.
Payton ask supporters to “Please visit the site and donate to our 501c3 in hopes that together we can help Punkin Chunkin continue its tradition.”