Mr. Speaker, despite my best efforts to uphold my humble demeanour, I am again forced to my feet to regale this House with yet another example of why Huron—Bruce is one of the finest constituencies in all of Canada.
Each October the town of Port Elgin in the northern part of my riding hosts its annual Pumpkinfest. This festival, commonly known as the olympics of gardening, provides an opportunity for the pumpkin growers of Ontario and the northern U.S. to collect together to determine who among them is a premium melon cultivator.
This year, as described by talk show host Jay Leno, the Port Elgin Pumpkinfest stepped into the record books. I am pleased to report that the 2000 edition of the Guiness Book of World Records will formally recognize the 1,092 pound gourd grown at this 1998 event.
As I witnessed at the weigh-in, the competition was intense. Again Port Elgin has secured its place as a world leader in the field of growing giant vegetables. Perhaps next year my colleagues in this place might add the Pumpkinfest to their summer agenda.