(Photo by Amber Phipps) A boy taking a swing at a pumpkin in the “rage room” at Washington State College of Ohio during Pumpkin Chuckin’ on Saturday.

The third annual Pumpkin Chuckin’ event was a success with pumpkins flying higher and further than ever on Saturday.

Hosted by Washington State College of Ohio, the event has grown in popularity over the years. What began as a small pumpkin launching event has become a small fall festival complete with live music, crafts, food, drinks, and plenty of entertainment.

Crowds gathered in the event parking lot at the college to watch a catapult launch pumpkins through the air.

The event is organized by the college’s System and Network Administrator Ben Harris. His wife Kayla said the event is a great way to connect with the community and give the students something to look forward to.

“The kids can learn that when you go to college, you can do some really cool things so it’s a really fun event every year during the fall,” she said. “We get a bunch of pumpkins and launch them and we get to feed the deer, so it’s a great time.”

(Photo by Amber Phipps) The maintenance crew watches as a pumpkin is launched through the air after releasing the catapult at Pumpkin Chuckin’ on Saturday.

Kayla said the catapult is built by the students in the IT, science and welding departments so they get to see their project come to life.

“In the previous two years, the catapult was actually made out of wood with metal implements but this year it’s completely steel so it’s super strong,” said Kayla. “It needs less weight this time because it doesn’t have back swing so it can go further and higher and quicker.”

As the event gained more attention, there were about 50-60 pumpkins total that were launched from the catapult. Kayla said they launched the most pumpkins this year.

“It was done through the summer welding program and the kids did a lot of the heavy lifting for actually building the catapult and Ben did a lot of the designing with the maintenance team,” she said.

Also at the event was a “rage room” which featured a small roped-in area for people to smash pumpkins. There was a line of people waiting their turn to smash a pumpkin to bits with a baseball bat or metal hammer.

(Photo by Amber Phipps) The maintenance crew loads a pumpkin into the metal catapult during the pumpkin launching at Pumpkin Chuckin’ on Saturday.

Entry to the event was free but the rage room and the mechanical bull cost $5 to participate.

“I think the addition of the games and food was really important this year but it gives people with a diverse range of abilities to be able to enjoy different aspects of the Pumpkin Chuckin’,” she said. “I would like to see even more community involvement in the coming years.”

Kayla said her favorite part about the event is the catapult and seeing the kids react to watching a pumpkin being launched.

“The kids just light up when they see a pumpkin flying 50 feet in the air,” she said.

In terms of expanding the event beyond just the fall season, Ben said it was to be determined if they were to decide on planning other events like the Pumpkin Chuckin’.

(Photo by Amber Phipps) Attendees at Washington State College of Ohio’s Pumpkin Chuckin’ event enjoy coffee, hotdogs and donuts on Saturday.

“Every year, the better the catapult is, the quicker it is to launch and the easier it is to get those pumpkins flying,” she said.

Attendees enjoyed drinks from Sips Coffee Truck or food from J’s Dog House. Live music was performed by Clint Carsey & The Track Layers who are a local blues and rock band.

(Photo by Amber Phipps) The metal catapult used to launch the pumpkins at the Pumpkin Chuckin’ event is being prepared to launch a pumpkin on Saturday.

(Photo by Amber Phipps) A few hundred people gathered Saturday at the event parking lot at Washington State College of Ohio to watch pumpkins being launched at the Pumpkin Chuckin’ event.

(Photo by Amber Phipps) Clint Carsey & The Track Layers performing live at the third annual Pumpkin Chuckin’ event at the Washington State College of Ohio on Saturday. The local band performs blues and southern rock for guests to enjoy.

(Photo by Amber Phipps) Families painting pumpkins in the craft area at the third annual Pumpkin Chuckin’ at the Washington State College of Ohio on Saturday.