BRIDGEVILLE, De.- Delmarva hasn't seen a flying pumpkin in two years now.
"We're back by popular demand and we like it, we're happy to be here," said John Stanley with the crew of the Great Emancipator.
A lawsuit and concerns about liability had the World Championship Punkin Chunkin event on the move and effectively on hiatus. It was a long wait for the chunkers.
"It was terrible, I cried, I never slept many many nights. Look at the bags under my eyes," said Stanley.
Maybe not quite that dramatic, but they say they are happy to finally be back on the shore this weekend, at Punkin Chunkin's location in Bridgeville, Del.
"We're very excited to be back down here, especially at this field because we know this field, we've studied the field during the off season. To have it here at this field for our team is awesome," said Brian Labrie with American Chunker.
The goal all these people are pushing for is a mile. That is what they are trying to hit distance wise. They don't know if they are going to hit it on Friday though because the wind is coming towards the front of the machines.
"The holy grail of the event is one mile. Nobody has ever hit it. We hold the current world record at 4700 feet. Today's winds are about 25 out of the north-northwest. You're going to see distances in the mid threes," said Labrie.
Three-thousand feet is not half bad, and still a great show especially with some of the more eccentric acts associated with each device.
"Well I'm gonna be the announcer here. I'm gonna get up in that bucket and go over the crowd. I'm gonna throw beads. I have a speech about Punkin Chunkin, and we're gonna get the crowd cheering. That's what we do," said Stanley.
After two years of waiting, no doubt the crowds will be more than happy to cheer.
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