“Maquina Verde” is declared the 2024 Pumpkin Racer Trophy Winner

It wouldn’t be October without the Montgomery Village Great Pumpkin Race and Fall Festival. On sunny Saturday, Oct. 5, with the temps in the 70s, pumpkins and people once again gathered in the parking lot of North Creek Community Center to participate in the area’s most innovative fall festival. Colorful decorations, tense racing action, plenty of family fun and pumpkin-themed everything, with the backdrop of music by 45 RPM and DJ Spyder, set the mood again this year for the 15^th Annual Fall Festival.

Before the races started, hundreds of residents and community neighbors had an opportunity to visit with local businesses and organizations, play carnival games, ride the rides, taste the festival food and participate in pumpkin-themed crafts. The test track and racer garage were encompassed in a flurry of activity up to the last minute, with all racers trying to gain the competitive edge—or at least figure out how to roll straight enough to cross the finish line! The last-minute tinkering paid off, as a large number of race heats came down to the wire.

Families gathered with pumpkin racers in hand to enjoy the festivities and try their luck at racing away with the coveted 1^st Place Pumpkin Racer Trophy. It was clear from the number of test runs, pumpkin garage visits and fantastically decorated pumpkins, that competition for this year’s medals and trophy was going to be stiff. There were 80 pumpkins entered into the race this year, as well as a full slate of VIP racers!

To start off the races, there was great turnout in the two VIP races:

VIP Race 1:

• State Senator Nancy King: “Insider Out” – RACE 1 WINNER
• State Delegate Gabriel Acevero: “Audrey 39”
• Former Mayor of Gaithersburg and County Councilmember Sydney Katz: “Spider Pumpkin”
• County Councilmember Dawn Luedtke: “Beetlejuice”
• Montgomery County 6^th District Police represented by Commander Eric Stancliff: “Police Recruitment”
• MVF Board President: Doniele Ayres: “Venom”

VIP/Business Race 2:

• MVF Executive Vice President Mike Conroy: “Phryges, the Paris 2024 Olympics Mascot”
• MVF Board Member Dan Anderson: “Tetra the Penguin”
• MVF Board Member Brandon Coffee-Borden: “Gonzo”
• SERVPRO of Gaithersburg/Germantown: “Like It Never Even Happened” – RACE 2 WINNER

Once the resident pumpkin racers started, each heat had its own set of thrills, whether it was bumping, bouncing off the hay bales or full-on racing down to the wire. Resident racers lined up for elimination heat after heat for the next hour, pitting siblings, friends, neighbors and strangers against each other. Amid a plethora of finely decorated, rule-abiding pumpkins lurked a few cheaters, who, once identified, were at the mercy of the crowd and the referee, “Emcee Radio.” It didn’t take much crowd convincing to have those whose pumpkins bent the rules eliminated from competition via the referee’s mallet. Several chants of “Smash it! Smash it!” were heard before the final thud of the mallet sent pumpkin seeds flying to loud cheers from the crowd.

In the final heat, Zyaire and Bryance Meekins’ “Big Z,” Rachael Sanders’ “Mega Minion Jerry” and Andrew and Monte Lewis’ “Maquina Verde” faced off for the coveted grand trophy. As fortune would have it, “Big Z” and “Mega Minion Jerry” crashed into each other early down the track, which gave “Maquina Verde” a wide open track to roll down to the finish line and be crowned as the 2024 Pumpkin Racer Trophy Winner in The Great Pumpkin Race!

For the rest of the festival, hundreds of residents and community neighbors enjoyed the rides, games and food. Back by popular demand this year was the beer garden, giving adults a place to taste a beverage with their meal; a number of food vendors and the petting zoo, which kept visitors busy before and after their racers were eliminated.

Congratulations to these Great Pumpkin Race Medal Winners for 2024:

• The Great Pumpkin Race Trophy Winner: “Maquina Verde” by Andrew and Monte Lewis
• Best Decoration: “Inside Out” by Nancy King
• Most Innovative Design: “Baby Casper” by Val and Miryam Valdez
• Most Disguised: “Sushi Roll” by Edgar and Ana Olmos
• Scariest: “New Ghost Face” by Brixton and Bryan Webster
• Prettiest: “Sparkle Unicorn” by Emilia Webster and Stef Gutierrez
• Best Animal Look-a-Like: “Mr. Porcupine” by Jonathan and Selena Cruz Argueta
• Best Cartoon Character: “Bob and Tim, the Minions” by Dale and Laura Browne
• Best Themed Racer Duo: “Vote for Corgi” by Ben and Laura Browne
• Biggest Cheater: “The Red Racoon” by The Short Family

Four other pumpkin racers received honorable mentions as the Judges’ Picks:

• “Baked Turkey” by Marcus Austria and Odiyl Alfonso
• “Tetra the Penguin” by Dan Anderson and Christiana Davis
• “Audrey 39” by Gabriel Acevero
• “Sadness” by Samantha Perez

MVF would like to thank our generous vendors, elected officials and participants in the event, including:

• Senator Nancy King (D39)
• Delegates Gabe Acevero, Lesley Lopez, and Greg Wims (D39)
• Montgomery County Councilmembers Sidney Katz (District 3) and Dawn Luedtke (District 7)
• Montgomery County 6^th District Police Commander Eric Stancliff and Community Services Officer Melanie Romano
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• 45 RPM
• DJ Spyder
• D’s Smokehouse BBQ
• DM Sliders
• Fantasy World Entertainment
• Frederick Keys and Keyote
• Georgetown Hill Early School
• Kona Ice
• Mathnasium of Gaithersburg
• Mid-Atlantic Federal Credit Union
• Montgomery County Democrat Club
• Montgomery County Republican Party (MCGOP)
• Montgomery Village Animal Hospital
• Mully’s Brewery
• Renewal by Andersen
• Roy Rogers Restaurants
• SERVPRO of Gaithersburg/Germantown
• Squeals on Wheels Petting Zoo
• Travelin’ Tom’s Coffee
• Trippy Tacos

Check out our HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO!

Next year’s Great Pumpkin Race and Fall Festival is sure to bring even more competition and excitement—keep your wheels, or find new ones, and start planning your racer now! The next Great Pumpkin Race and Fall Festival is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025—see you then!