Pumpkin projectiles: Penn Township brewery holds Pumpkin Pitchin' charity event
Kaitee Robertson of Greensburg wasn’t messing around during Sunday’s Pumpkin Pitchin’ contest at Devout Brewing in Penn Township.
Robertson and more than 20 other entrants were taking part in pumpkin bowling, target practice (trying to hit the center of a large bull’s-eye target) and “pumpkin pong,” modeled on the college drinking game.
Just like a professional golfer, Robertson chose the proper tool carefully for each task.
“This guy is going to be great for pumpkin pong, because it flies in the air so easily — great for accuracy,” Robertson said, pointing to the first of three pumpkins sitting in front of her. Moving down the line, “this guy right here is really good for bowling because the stem will keep him going steady. And for the target, this one has really flat sides, because I’m gonna throw him ‘granny-style’ so he splats in the middle and I get all the points.”
It was all for charity, raising money for Toys for Pittsburgh Tikes, and it’s the third time Devout owner Matt Joseph has organized the competition.
“We always put out our toy collection box a few weeks before Thanksgiving,” Joseph said. “So putting something like this together seemed like a great way to kick that whole effort off.”
In the first year of the event, one thing that didn’t work out so well was the pumpkin-smashing competition.
“That did not go at all how we were expecting, so we replaced it with ‘pumpkin pong,’ ” he said.
Last year’s distance-throwing competition has been replaced with bowling, to help keep the playing field level.
The $10 entry fee goes to Toys for Pittsburgh Tikes. Any player who beat Joseph’s score earned a free drink.
Marcus Petrisek of Penn Township has pitched pumpkins all three years.
“It’s a lot of fun, and it’s a great example of how Devout works with other local businesses,” Petrisek said. “They give all their spent brewing grain to Gillis Family Farm nearby to help feed their livestock, and Gillis provides the pumpkins and hay bales for the competition.”
As to strategy, Petrisek said he was looking for a thin-walled pumpkin to use in pumpkin pong.
“I’m hoping I can find one that will break apart when it hits the side of the containers and I can land a piece in multiple buckets,” he said.
The event has raised nearly $500 for Toys for Pittsburgh Tikes over the past two years.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.
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