Page last updated on October 13, 2023 at 1:21 pm
Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023
Monroe County Fairgrounds, 5700 W. Airport Rd. in Bloomington.
Spectator admission: $10 per vehicle
Click here to register your launch team!
Gates open at 11 a.m. Launching begins at noon.
Live music by Chris Dollar!
Fall has arrived and pumpkins are flying in the skies over the Monroe County Fairgrounds!
Launcher teams send pumpkins soaring through the air in competitions for distance and accuracy. Get a team together to build and enter a pumpkin launching device! Cannons and chemically powered launchers are NOT permitted.
Not a builder? Not to worry! Watch the competitions, and see pumpkins splatter to the ground when we drop them from a bucket truck.
There is plenty more to do and see at the Pumpkin Launch, including a children's area with fall-themed activities, live music, food vendors, and the festive feel of fall.
Bring a lawn chair, sit back, and be amazed by launch device ingenuity!
Launcher Categories
Launch device registration fee: $25 (no more than six people per launching team)
Launcher team registration deadline is Oct. 9.
- Youth Human Powered (elementary or middle school)
- Student Human Powered (high school or college)
- Adult Human Powered
Launching Device Requirements
- Cannons and chemically powered launchers are NOT permitted. Device must be mechanical only. No fuel, compressed air, electricity, explosives, and/or other chemical components or any other fluids including but not limited to oil, water, and hydraulic fluid allowed. The only exception is for a small powered winch on the machine to help cock the throwing arm.
- A safety strap or other mechanism is required to remain in place at all times on the throwing arm after the machine is cocked until released for firing. This is to ensure that no premature launches occur.
- Any device constructed similar to a catapult must launch overhand, and not sidearm.
Competitions
- Teams compete in both accuracy and distance contests. Each contest consists of four rounds of launching.
- Teams must bring a minimum of eight pumpkins weighing between 5 and 8 pounds to the competition.
Launcher team registration deadline is Friday, Oct. 9.
For more information about the Pumpkin Launch, contact Bill Ream at 812-349-3748 or reamw@bloomington.in.gov.