The organizers of Stillwater Harvest Fest have found the perfect recipe for a successful fall festival: giant pumpkins, giant pumpkins and, yes, even more giant pumpkins. “Giant pumpkins make people smile,

Growing a giant pumpkin takes a giant time commitment. Why do growers put in so much effort for something that’s vulnerable to the elements and isn’t good for baking?

ENON VALLEY, Pa. — In the valley of giants, pumpkins heavier than grand pianos rest atop cushioned pallets waiting to be weighed, while the mad scientist who grew them from tiny seeds sized them up from afar. “No, not those ones,” farmer Dave Stelts says on this late September afternoon. “Those are just the babies.”

A new but familiar champion was crowned Saturday at the 30th annual Giant Pumpkin Festival in Elk Grove. The pale, enormous pumpkin grown by Ruben Frias of American Canyon tipped the competition’s scale at 1,