PROVIDENCE – Elephants won’t be the only heavyweights at Roger Williams Park Zoo this fall. With a nod to flora as well as fauna, the zoo will be displaying the world’s heaviest green squash at this year's Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular, which runs until Nov. 2.
Weighing 2,200 pounds, the gigantic gourd broke the world weight record at the 2025 Southern New England Giant Pumpkin Growers Weigh Off at Frerichs Farm in Warren, where it was submitted by Scituate farmer Joe Jutras.
“We’re thrilled to showcase Joe’s incredible world-record squash as part of this year’s spectacular,” said Mike Finizza of Passion for Pumpkins, the zoo’s partner for this annual event. “His dedication and skill have contributed to the event’s success for many years, and this record-breaking squash is the perfect addition to our show this year.”
Jutras, who supplies pumpkins annually for the Jack-Lantern Spectacular at the zoo, has been growing pumpkins and squash competitively since 1997. He broke the previous squash record in 2017 with a 2,118-pound entry and went on to win the competition another three years running.
The record-breaking squash will be on display at the zoo's popular Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular, which features thousands of intricately carved pumpkins illuminating the wetlands trail every night until Nov. 2.
Veer Mudambi is PBN special projects editor and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Mudambi@PBN.com.