A pumpkin-flinging event that for 33 years annually brought thousands to Delaware is leaving the First State.
The Punkin Chunkin World Championship announced Tuesday that the national event is moving from Sussex County, Delaware, to an Illinois town.
"For over 33 years, we have called Sussex County, Delaware, our home,” Punkin Chunkin said on its website, "but the chunk must go on.”
The move follows a two-year stoppage in the event after a woman was injured by an air cannon in 2016. Her lawsuit wound its way through the courts for two years. In January of this year, her claim was dismissed.
In a recent vote, Punkin Chunkin team captains overwhelmingly voted to the change of location.
Thousands of spectators and participants flocked to the Punkin Chunkin each year to build their own pumpkin-chucking contraptions.
Money made from the event contributed to donations and scholarships for students in Delmarva.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
"We want to thank those that came forward in Delaware and Maryland in trying to keep the event on Delmarva," Punkin Chunkin said on their website.
The new location for the pumpkin-shooting event will take place at the Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois that was decommissioned in 1993.
Punkin Chunkin World Championship 2019 is planned to take place Nov. 1-3, according to the Punkin Chunkin website.
