Ready, Aim, Splat: Estancia Set to Host 30th Annual Punkin Chunkin Festival

ESTANCIA, N.M. — High-powered air cannons, medieval-style catapults, and airborne squash are set to take center stage in the Estancia Valley as the town marks a major milestone for one of New Mexico’s quirkiest autumn traditions.

The 30th annual Estancia Punkin Chunkin festival is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17, bringing back a full day of mechanical competition and family festivities to benefit the Estancia Rotary Club Youth Scholarship Fund.

The tradition traces its origins back to the late 1990s, when local community leaders and Rotary Club members sought a spirited, family-friendly autumn festival that could raise money for college-bound youth while celebrating the agricultural heritage of the Estancia Valley. What began as a modest community gathering with homemade slingshots and small trebuchets has evolved over three decades into an engineering spectacle, drawing backyard inventors, competitive hobbyists, and spectators from across the region to watch pumpkins hurled hundreds of yards across open farmland.

The sport of pumpkin chucking, popularized nationally in Delaware during the late 20th century, pits machine builders against gravity and aerodynamics using strictly mechanical means. Over the years, entries in Estancia have ranged from counterweight trebuchets and torsion catapults to centrifugal arms and colossal, trailer-mounted pneumatic air cannons capable of blasting pumpkins into the sky at highway speeds.

Activities on Saturday begin with gates opening at 8 a.m. at the Punkin’ Chunkin’ field, located about 1.5 miles west of State Road 41 on Highway 55 (approximately eight miles east of the NM 337 and NM 55 junction).

The festival kicks off in town with a 10:30 a.m. parade down Main Street, followed by launcher and vendor setup at 11 a.m. and practice rounds at noon. Following the national anthem at 12:30 p.m. and an official opening launch, organizers will crown the Punkin’ Chunkin’ Prince and Princess at 1 p.m.

Official competition launches get underway at 1:30 p.m., featuring multiple machine classes competing for raw distance and accuracy. Spectators can also catch a pie-eating contest and exhibition launches at 3 p.m., leading up to the final results and awards ceremony at 4 p.m.

Gate admission is $5 per person, with free admission for children ages 5 and under. Parking is free, and organizers will give away door prizes each hour to ticket holders in attendance.