The story
West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta in Tualatin
Tualatin's West Coast Giant Pumpkin Regatta began in 2004 and turns growers' giant pumpkins into racing vessels on the Lake of the Commons. Pumpkins are lifted, opened and hollowed before heats in which costumed paddlers steer them across the lake; growers traditionally take an early race before additional competitors enter. The recurring practices—hollowing giant pumpkins into boats, costumed paddling heats, and growers race on the Lake of the Commons—tie the public program to the place and the people who sustain it.
A costumed paddler lowers into a hollowed giant pumpkin on Tualatin Commons, wobbles once and discovers whether several hundred pounds of squash will track like a boat.