A 3,156-pound pumpkin has earned two Guinness World Records just in time for Halloween, thanks to a Rhode Island grower and Raising Cane’s founder Todd Graves, whose restaurant chain has a major corporate presence in Plano.
The massive pumpkin, already recognized as the heaviest ever grown, was transformed into the world’s heaviest jack-o’-lantern during an October 27 celebration in Salem, Massachusetts, reported the Blast. The finished display featured witches, skeletons, a bat cave, and Raising Cane’s-themed decorations, with Disney’s Halloweentown stars joining the festivities.
Guinness World Records holder for the Heaviest Jack-O-Lantern 3,156 pounds! 🎃@ToddGraves just made Halloween history with the @GWR title for the World’s Heaviest Jack-O’-Lantern!
We carved the 3,156-pound pumpkin in Salem for its 400th anniversary with Halloween icons… pic.twitter.com/mCcpJw5rUi
— Raising Cane's (@raisingcanes) October 28, 2026
Seven Years In The Making
Graves spent seven years pursuing the record-breaking Halloween creation, bringing together champion pumpkin grower Ron Wallace and professional carvers Eric Jones, Monique Hawk, and William Wilson.
The display was unveiled at Salem Common as the Massachusetts city celebrated its 400th anniversary, per Boston.com.
Guinness World Records adjudicator Michael Empric confirmed the new jack-o’-lantern title, surpassing the previous record of 2,749 pounds set in 2023, according to The Knockturnal report.
“This is an incredible pumpkin and work of art,” Empric said. “I saw the renderings of what it might look like, but to see it in person is incredible.”
The record’s 3,156-pound figure refers to the pumpkin’s certified weight before carving.
How Do You Grow A 3,156-Pound Pumpkin?
The pumpkin began as a seed planted by Wallace in Greene, Rhode Island.
Wallace, 60, grew the pumpkin over 123 days before its official weighing October 10 at the Southern New England Giant Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Warren, Rhode Island.
The pumpkin weighed 3,156 pounds, making it the first officially recognized pumpkin to exceed 3,000 pounds, according to Guinness.
It was Wallace’s third world record for growing the heaviest pumpkin.
His first record came in 2006 with a 1,502-pound pumpkin. He surpassed the 2,000-pound threshold in 2012 with another record-breaking specimen.
This year’s achievement followed a different growing approach.
Wallace cultivated his pumpkin in a greenhouse for the first time, which he credited, along with favorable weather, for helping produce the enormous fruit.
The October 10 weigh-in also broke a record that had stood for only one week.
British grower Ian Paton had produced a pumpkin weighing approximately 2,857 pounds on October 3. Wallace surpassed that record by nearly 300 pounds.
Carving A Pumpkin With Walls Nearly 2 Feet Thick
Turning Wallace’s pumpkin into a jack-o’-lantern required an experienced team of sculptors and approximately 30 to 32 hours of drawing and carving.
The pumpkin’s walls approached 2 feet thick in some areas, allowing the artists to create unusually detailed designs.
The finished creation included a Salem-inspired witch, a cauldron, skeletons, bats, and a bat cave.
The artists also incorporated more than a dozen additional fruits and vegetables into the display, including turnips, carrots, apples, beets, and eggplants, according to The Salem News.
The turnips served as a reference to earlier Halloween traditions in which people carved lanterns from root vegetables before pumpkins became widely used in America.
The final display exceeded the previous jack-o’-lantern record by 407 pounds.
Disney Stars Join The Halloween Celebration
The unveiling brought two familiar faces from Disney’s Halloweentown movies to Salem.
Kimberly J. Brown, who portrayed Marnie Piper in the movie series, attended with her husband, Daniel Kountz, who played Kal in Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge.
“This pumpkin is the most astounding pumpkin I’ve ever seen,” Brown said, according to Patch. “I’m so honored to be part of this occasion.”
Salem Mayor Dominick Pangallo also attended the event and proclaimed October 27 Great Pumpkin Day.
The celebration coincided with Salem’s 400th anniversary.
Raising Cane’s Has A Major North Texas Presence
Although the record-setting pumpkin was grown in Rhode Island and carved in Massachusetts, Raising Cane’s has longstanding business ties to North Texas.
The company operates its Dallas Restaurant Support Office in Plano and announced plans in 2024 to expand into a larger office campus at 5320 Legacy Drive.
The project involves a roughly 400,000-square-foot property that was previously part of Ross Perot’s Electronic Data Systems campus, according to the City of Plano’s official announcement.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Plano City Council approved approximately $6.2 million in incentives in August 2024 to support the expansion.
At the time, the company employed approximately 480 full-time workers at its existing Plano office. The expansion agreement outlined plans for a larger workforce and at least $20 million in building improvements.
Raising Cane’s is also celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2026.
Provided by Dallas Express
