A pumpkin weighing 905 kilograms, cultivated by José Rui Almeida Santos, from Paderne, Albufeira, won the eighth edition of the "O Maior da Minha Aldeia" giant vegetable contest and set a new competition record, in Aguiar de Sousa, Paredes. The Algarve specimen was the largest among the 27 competitors who participated this year in the event, held as part of "Aldeia em Festa," promoted by the Paredes Municipality in partnership with the Aguiar de Sousa Parish Council and homologated by the Great Pumpkin Commonwealth.
António Manuel Lemos Almeida, from Real, came in second place with an 861-kilogram pumpkin, while Virgílio Afonso de Oliveira Ribeiro, also from Real, took third place with 729.5 kilograms. José Rui Almeida Santos also stood out in the melon category, with a specimen of 7.95 kilograms, and Fernando Martins Dias, from Paredes, won the tomato category with a fruit of 1.333 kilograms. In the watermelon competition, Cláudia Fernandes, from Albufeira, came in first place with 71.5 kilograms.
In the municipal competition, reserved for producers from Paredes, João Pedro dos Santos Cardoso, from Duas Igrejas, presented the largest vegetable with 391.5 kilograms. The winner of the main category received a prize of one thousand euros, in addition to the diploma and the international diploma, while the second and third place finishers received 500 and 200 euros respectively. Fernando Santos, from Aguiar de Sousa, won the "Most Beautiful Pumpkin" category.
The award ceremony took place on Sunday, the 13th, at Parque Natural da Senhora do Salto, with the presence of Councilor Beatriz Meireles and the president of the Aguiar de Sousa Parish Council, Fernando Santos.
