ELLICOTTVILLE — What better time to “chunk” a pumpkin than right after Halloween?
People who love the outdoors and a good time should mark their calendars for the Ellicottville Distillery’s inaugural “Punkin’ Chunkin’” event set for Sunday, Nov. 4 from 1 to 7 p.m.
This exciting event will take place on the grounds of the distillery located at 5462 Robbins Road.
Team Urban Siege will be there demonstrating their new machine, the North American Sliding Axle Whipper (NASAW), just two days after their participation in the “Dayton Pumpkin Chuck” at the National Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio.
While enjoying a cocktail, guests can learn about the machine and watch pumpkins get launched from the 20-foot trebuchet (catapult).
For those who don’t know what a trebuchet is, it’s a type of catapult that was used in medieval siege warfare for hurling large stones or other missiles.
Team Urban Siege is a group of friends located primarily in Western New York and one member resides in the Denver area.
They have been building trebuchets since 2006 and competing in the World Championships of “Punkin’ Chunkin’” since 2008.
For more information about Team Urban Siege, visit teamurbansiege.com and Facebook.
Distiller Bryan Scharf said this is the first time of having the event at the distillery. He thinks it’ll be a good time and he’s expecting a good turnout if the weather holds.
“I thought throwing pumpkins would be a good event to help draw people to our distillery,” he said.
According to Scharf, the team is bringing their 20-foot tall trebuchet to the event, which is one of their bigger catapults. They’re also bringing some unique pumpkins to use on the machine.
“They can throw pumpkins 800-yards on this machine, so it’ll be impressive and something to see,” he said. “I’ve been watching some of their videos and thinking, ‘Oh, wow!’”
According to their website, teamurbansiege.com, the team has built numerous trebuchets ranging from baseball tossers to a competition pumpkin hurler weighing over 13,000 pounds.
They’ve competed in the World Championships of “Punkin’ Chunkin’” since 2008 with one world title in 2012. They took a very close second place finish in 2011 with their latest trebuchet NASAW, which is the first of its kind.
It’s incredibly efficient and a super, long-distance-throwing trebuchet. So far, they’ve shot nearly 2,400-feet in competition, but they feel they are far from reaching the machine’s distance capabilities.
Scharf said this event is going to be a blast and something people won’t want to miss, so they should invite their family and friends to come along.
He said although Halloween will be over, people can feel free to join in with the bartenders and dress up in a fun costume.
Public tastings at the Ellicottville Distillery are currently held on Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m. and have been extended to Sunday from 1 to 7 p.m.
For more details, call the distillery at 597-6121 or visit online at ellicottvilledistillery.com, Facebook and Instagram.
(Contact reporter Deb Everts at salpressdeb@gmail.com)
