Summerland Giant Pumpkin and Watermelon Festival

24/02/2026

Congratulations Chris! An amazing work depicting our great town from the lookout.

Congratulations to Chris O'Neill Oaten on taking out this year's Caroline Fischer Memorial People's Choice Award!
The piece in question is a beautiful rendering titled 'Lookout Over Kyogle'.

10/02/2026

As school has returned, winners were presented their prizes for the Writing Competition! Thank you Susanna for sponsoring and running this fabulous competition!

Huge pumpkins feature in these imaginative stories

19/01/2026

TASTE OF KYOGLE COMPETITION 🍉🍕🍛🍰

Record number of entries this year!

The winner of Best Pumpkin Dish was the Kyogle Golf Club for their sumac roasted pumpkin with labneh, pomegranate, and toasted hazelnuts.

The winner of Best Watermelon Dish was Beansprout Cafe for their beautifully presented watermelon salad.

And the winner of Best Drink—in a category with some truly lovely entries—was the surprisingly delicious Pumpkin Espresso Martini from The Exchange Hotel Kyogle.

Highly commended we’re both butchers - Kyogle Quality Meats and Stuart Bros Butchers Kyogle. As well as their sausages Stuarts made a smoked lamb and pumpkin pizza.

And a special award “The spirit of the festival” went to Bean Sprout for the large number of entries.

How lucky are we to live in a town with such amazing food and creative chefs and cooks!
Thank you to all the entrants!

19/01/2026

ART COMPETITION RESULTS
What an incredible opening night last Thursday night! The Art & Craft Competition showcases an amazing range of creativity, with such a diverse mix of works on display. From 2D pieces to 3D creations, the local talent on show is truly something special.

Thank you to all the artists and makers who entered – your creativity, skill and imagination have made this exhibition a real standout.

Competition results as follows -

Best Interpretation of Theme Overall
1st Max Davis - "Watermelon"
2nd Maci Blackburn - "Watermelon Blast"

Two Dimensional 12-16yrs
1st Cailean Burrows - "Grown"
2nd Eniyah Doolan - "Pumpkin #1"

Two Dimensional over 18
1st Jenny Kitchener - "Seed Totem"
2nd Rebecca Tapscott - "Grown from seed"

3 Dimensional 12-18yrs
1st Ladi Witkowski - "Gnome Home"

3 Dimensional over 18
1st Mario Sanchez - "Propagating Love"
2nd Pamela Armstrong - "Seedpod Body"

Excellence in use of materials - Dave Thamm "Waterbirth"
Spirit of Kyogle Award - Chris Oniell Oaten "Lookout over Kyogle Township.
Excellent Use of Colour - Alice Robinson "I Ching Gua 62 Lightning over Mountain"

Thank you to all the entrants!
The exhibition is open until February 22nd. Be sure to check it out!

17/01/2026

Thanks to Susanna at The Indy for her support over the years! Always in attendance coving our little festival. Check out her articles on the festival at https://indynr.com 🍉🍉🍉

Dale Oliver won again at the Giant Pumpkin and Watermelon Festival

17/01/2026

2026 Pumpkin & Watermelon Results -

OPEN PUMPKIN
1st Dale Oliver - 580.5 kg
2nd Lillian Cox - 492.0 kg
3rd John Leadbeatter - 325.0 kg
4th Kurt Stevens - 291.5
5th Chris Pike - 284.0

OPEN WATERMELON
1st John Leadbeatter - 57.5 kg
2nd Donna Syme - 50.0 kg
3rd Kurt Stevens - 43.0kg
4th Lillian Cox - 40 kg
5th Vanessa Kook - 20.5 kg
6th Chris Pike - 19 kg

JUNIOR PUMPKIN
1st Matilda Cox - 267.5kg
2nd Child of Kurt Stevens - 68.5kg
3rd Oaka Brennan - 48 kg
4th Riley Frohloff - 19 kg

JUNIOR WATERMELON
1st Mackenzie Oliver - 46kg
2nd Oscar Groeneld - 27 kg
3rd Jindi Groeneld - 26.0 kg
3rd Dusty Cox - 26.0 kg

Congratulation to all our entrants!

17/01/2026

Good line up for the watermelon eating competition! Lots of anticipation 🍉🍉🍉

17/01/2026

Big pumpkins and great vibes! So many smiling faces and friendly conversation! We ❤️ Kyogle.

16/01/2026

It’s festival day! Giants are arriving and we are gearing up for an awesome day of small town wholesome fun!

16/01/2026

Christian Hull made a quick stopover in our lovely town, and we can’t blame him for falling in love! Shame he couldn’t stay for the festival tomorrow but he’s on his way home with a mini pumpkin 🎃😍

16/01/2026

Clay Corner is putting on a beautiful little workshop tomorrow! Free for all ages, get your hands busy and make a clay pumpkin!

16/01/2026

FREE ENTRY to the Kyogle Memorial Pool tomorrow after the festival 3-6pm! The inflatable obstacle course will be up for kids and adults alike!
When we say the whole town gets involved in the festival, we mean it! 🏊‍♂️💦🐠