Giant pumpkin regatta set for Oct. 9 at Memorial Union

October at the Union Terrace means crisp blue skies and crimson leaves scattered among the brightly colored tables and chairs. But this year you’ll also see a flash of orange bobbing in Lake Mendota as UW–Madison’s first Giant Pumpkin Regatta takes place at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 9, at the Memorial Union Terrace, 800 Langdon St.

In the race, organized by professors of horticulture Jim Nienhuis and Irwin Goldman, students – or “pumpkin pilots” – will paddle hollowed-out 3-foot-wide Atlantic Giant pumpkins, mounted to tractor tires for stability, between the piers at the Memorial Union Terrace. The Union’s Hoofer Sailing Club will set up the course with buoys, provide supervision and chase kayaks. In addition to life jackets, each pilot will be outfitted with what Nienhuis calls “an attractively carved” pumpkin helmet.

The pumpkin pilots will come from a class on world vegetable crops that Nienhuis and Goldman teach in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. The first race will feature Goldman, who also is a CALS associate dean for research, and a horticulture graduate student. Other challenges will follow.

The massive pumpkins were grown by undergraduates Kris Stump Schmidt and Calvin Leitzow as part of a student project, says Nienhuis.